Fate Stay Night: A New Beginning
by G4MEFRE4K
Summary: It was over, Shirou Emiya was half dead and still dying, the Great Gates were closing but he didn't want it to end this way, Shirou makes an accidental wish and is sent back to the beginning of the war! But is it his war? Strong Shirou!, Shirou x Harem.
1. Chapter 1: Repeat

"Normal Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Fate Stay Night or anything else created by Type-Moon.**

* * *

Shirou's in pain, all he wanted was to see Sakura again, to hold her in his arms. He could feel his mind breaking bit by bit down to the cellular level. Everything was numb, every step felt like a mile, but nothing else mattered to him because of the white haired girl. "Il...a" Shirou said. He couldn't remember her, why was it so hard? "You said an older brother protects his little sister, right?... I'm the older sister so I have to protect my younger brother" she said sadly. Shirou's mind was in turmoil, he was digging through what was left of his mind until it hit him "I...llya" he remembered her name. Kiritsugu's real blood relative. The girl who was left alone because he came and stole him... A girl who has silver hair and red eyes that's a bit older than him. Panic stuck Shirou "Illya, Illya, Illya, Illya, ILLYA!" He said. He couldn't reach her, he couldn't hear voices anymore, he couldn't see anything in this light. But at that final moment he sees Illya turn and smile one last time goodbye and shuts the gate to the Great Holy Grail... Is how it should have happened. Shirou grit his teeth, This is it?! This is how it ends?! No not for Emiya Shirou, with the last of his strength he mutters these last words "I can't stop now, Everyone still needs me! I...I will change **FATE**!" Then darkness consumed him.

* * *

Shirou was falling, it was nothing but pure darkness, he couldn't feel, hear, see or touch. it felt like an eternity until he finally hit something, it was cold and damp, eveything was silent, was he dead? He just wanted to drift off to sleep until he heard those familiar words. "I am Servant Saber," a voice declared.

Shirou froze when he heard those words.

Its impossible! _She _was dead, he killed _her._

Shirou slowly opened his eyes and he saw _her _again. The beautiful knight, _her_ blue dress and shining armor, _her_ emotionless face, _her_ golden hair shaped into a bun.

Arturia Pendragon, his **S****ervant**.

"Upon your summoning, I have come forth," she said calmly, he was actually happy hearing those words, he thought he was going crazy. "I ask of you: are you my Master?" She said.

Shirou finally was able to move again, he wordlessly nodded his head.

Saber saw the Command Seals on his left hand...wait his left hand? He finally noticed he has his arm! His own flesh and blood, not the tan and muscular arm wrapped with the Shroud of Martin to keep _his _influence away. But something was off. He still felt the constriction of the Shroud, yet it wasn't there. He still felt the slight pain and build-up of prana.

"Yes, you summoned me," she said "and as a Saber, I answered your call. My sword will be at your side from here on forward. From now on, whatever fate you choose will be mine as well. The connection with us has now been set." As soon as she finished she stiffened and leaped out the door. "Stop!" Shirou said, damn it! what the hell was going on?!

Shirou ran out the door and witnessed the battle between two titans. There is a man in a blue skin tight suit with silver lines running through it, with large metal shoulder guards, he has short blue hair with a small pony tail, he also has piercing red eyes, the eyes of a warrior. But none of those mattered when he saw the crimson spear, its barbed tip, it's unquenchable bloodlust. Shirou didn't even notice he said "Trace On,"

Judging the concept of creation.

Hypothesizing the basic structure.

Duplicating the composition material.

Imitating the skill of its making.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.

Reproducing the accumulated years.

Excelling every manufacturing process.

Shirou suddenly felt a weight in his hand he saw the same spear that man, no Cú Chulainn has.

The spear of the Irish Hero.

**Gáe Bolg.**

While Shirou was distracted with his new discovery, Saber and Lancer were clashing, Lancer with his lighting fast strikes and Saber blocking and parrying each strike. Each strike looked like blurs to a normal human. Soon enough Lancer was forced to leap back with each of Sabers strikes, quickly following she got close enough for a sideways slash aimed for his head, Lancer blocked with the shaft of his spear but from the strength of the hit it caused him to be slowly pushed back. With a battle cry he pushes back Saber. The two warriors stare at each other ever ready to strike again.

"Tch!" Lancer growled. "Stop cheating! Using that invisible weapon!"

Saber responded by charging ahead and striking him, forcing him to block each strike and leap back. Lancer grimaced, each strike was strong, too strong for someone with such a small body, he had to finish this quickly.

"Tell me something, that weapon it's a sword right?" Lancer said with a small grin.

Saber calmly stared at him and said "It doesn't matter what it is but it could be anything, all that matters is I will defeat you right here and now" Saber said.

Lancer was silent for a moment until he started to chuckle his chuckles then turned into full blown laughter. The laughter grew louder and louder until he calmed down. "HA! HA! Ha! ha he he, You? Defeat me? Don't make me laugh!" Lancer said.

Saber looked at him and said " You talk too much, if you are a Servant let your lance do the talking" Saber said coldly.

Lancer started to grin, a madman's grin "Fine! If you want my lance, you can have IT!"

_"Huh?!"_ Saber felt the build up of prana and stood ready waiting for the attack.

Meanwhile Shirou finally noticed the build up of prana, _"What amazing magical power!" _Shirou said, he knew that much power could only mean one thing, Lancer's **Noble Phantasm** "What do I do?" Shirou mumbled. He couldnt block that move, Shirou was running out of ideas until what he needed was right there in his hands, Gáe Bolg. Shirou needed to be ready, he needed to have absolute concentration for this.

"Goodbye Saber!" Lancer said with a smile.

"GÁE!" Lancer shouted. This is it!

"GÁE!" Shirou said. Almost!

"BOLG!" Lancer threw the spear aimed for Sabers heart.

"BOLG!" Shirou roared, two crimson spears, one aimed to kill, the other to protect.

Just as Lancer's spear was in Saber's range Shirou's spear slammed into Lancer's. One was sent flying in the air while the other shattered into dust.

_"The name of that spear! He must be..."_

There was dead silence, the only thing that could be heard was Shirou's heavy breathing.

"You..." Lancer is shaking in anger, until he abruptly stops. "Heh, not bad kid, not bad at all." Lancer looks at Saber "You have a pretty good master, he could be quite the workout if he had better training". Lancer turn's around and starts to walk away. Saber immediately charges "You're running away?! Stop being a coward and fight!" Saber said, Lancer turns and smirks, "Sorry my cowardly master told me to only observe, but I did get a good fight, your master can be a scary guy with that high end projection magic". Lancer frowns slightly that he was able to replicate his spear, granted it was not perfect but it was damn close. "See Ya!" He than leaps away with a smile on his face. Shirou runs up to Saber to see if she got any injuries, but as Shirou is looking for any damage he meets the cold eyes of Saber.

There's an uncomfortable silence, both just staring at each other until Shirou breaks the silence...with the dumbest thing anyone could say, "So...how are you?"

* * *

Saber is looking at the strange boy with auburn hair and large brown eyes. "That was extremely stupid of you" Saber said. She looks at him pause and stare at her as well.

Shirou pauses "I couldn't help it, you needed help and if I didn't step in you would have been injured or worse" Shirou said.

Saber frowns "Be that as it may you are **Human **and humans can't stand up to **Servants. **You would more of a hinderence than help, master".

"Master? Servants? what is that anyway?" Shirou hopes he sounded convincing enough.

Saber looked confused "You don't know of the Holy Grail War?...I see you really don't know anything do you?... Very well The Holy Grail War, it is a competition between 7 masters, each searching for the holy grail, for their one true wish. Where their servants humbly serve, protect and fight for their master. You master! You were chosen as one of the masters to fight!" Shirou was silent, not by the information but for something else. _"Something's off, I don't remember this occurring before, what the hell is going on?"_

Saber sees his silence as a way to continue "Well Master?"

"Shirou"

"What?"

"It's Shirou, call me Shirou."

Saber pauses, then smiles, "Shirou then, yes it sounds better that way".

He sees her still waiting for an answer "I won't stand on the sidelines, while you fight Saber" he sees her try to protest, "I know that there will be very strong opponents, some that might even be stronger than you, but I can't stand to see my friend hurt protecting someone like me. I will run away and let you take over if the opponent is too strong."

She pauses for a moment and a small smile graces her face "Yes I agree to these rules, but if the opponent is too strong you run okay?"

Shirou smiles "Okay."

Shirou notices her smile and he sees how beautiful she is, her features soften, her stance relaxes and her eyes are no longer cold and strict, but warm and kind.

Saber pauses and her stance soon turns rigid "It seems that another servant is approaching, stay here master." She runs off at speed he could barely see.

"Wait! Saber!" Damn it, again?! Shirou needed to catch up he needed to stop her, Shirou looks at his left arm, he didn't use the arm for 2 reasons, One his own circuits were enough for the Noble Phantasm, and Two he didn't know how to get the 'shroud' off his arm. Shirou hears the sounds of clashing a distance away, damn! he needed to do this now! He did what he was best at, Shirou used structural grasp on his arm and was started at what he saw. He saw that the shroud was still there and the same with _that guy's _arm. They were in a form of pure prana, his real arm was like a second skin, like a glove to a hand. Well that was alot simpler than he thought. Shirou closed his eyes and visualized the shroud as he 'loosened the cloth'.

Pain.

He felt the familiar pain start again, how it gives him a great boost of power. How it was killing him and helping him at the same time. How _his _influence was trying to rewrite his very soul.

Shirou grits his teeth he felt the swords under his skin digging out of his body. Slowly killing him from the inside out. He would have to push on. Shirou used **reinforcement **to strengthen his body to the max. The ground cracked when he took off, he was speeding along and finally saw Saber slash _him _across the chest, he then saw Rin call _him _back, but what surprised Shirou is that Saber charged at Rin, he saw her backpedal to try to get away. He only hoped that he could make it in time. Shirou charged forward again, 'loosening the cloth' a little more. Calling upon more power he was soon in front of Rin, he traces a sword and pumped more prana into his arms and blocked Sabers swing. He felt his arms groan under the pressure, the power behind that attack caused the ground to indent from the tremendous force, Shirou saw the nameless sword start to chip and crack, just one more push and the sword would break. As suddenly as the attack happened it stopped as well. It seems that Saber didn't fully comprehend what happened, one second she was dealing with the other master and the next she saw the blur of auburn hair and the clash of steel against steel.

"Master! Why would you defend her! She's the enemy!" Saber shouted, how could her master be so stupid!

Shirou didn't here anything, right now all he felt was pain, horrible pain, he felt his existence fading away. He dropped the nameless sword, it clattered uselessly on the ground until it shatters into dust.

Pain. Pain. **Pain!**

**Rip it off!**

**Stop now!**

**Put it back on!**

**Let go!**

Shirou ignored the small voice and visualizes the shroud and 'tightens the cloth' Shirou breathing slowly calmed and he feels the swords recede back into his soul back to _him. _The horrible pain now a dull ache. Shirou feels a warm hand touch his face, he opened his eyes and sees the worried face of Saber.

"Are you alright, Shirou?" She asks calmly, she could have sworn she saw _something_ coming out of his neck.

Shirou smiles "Yes I'm alright, the projection of Lancers well lance took a lot out of me, as well as blocking your sword, man your really strong Saber!"

He saw a slight blush on her face for the compliment, "That was still reckless of you master but she is the enemy! Why would you protect her! She needs to be eliminated!"

"That reminds me Saber I want to add to the rules that we made before, I dont want you to kill any of the masters in the war Saber, I want there to be little to no casualties, I want to save everyone that I can."

Saber looks at him for a moment and nods her head. He smiles even more, he felt a huge weigh lift of of him.

The third presence finally makes herself known. Saber stiffens and stands infront of Shirou protectively.

"Good evening Emiya-kun, I'll have to repay you for that" Rin said.

"Tohsaka!?"

**Author Notes:**

**Hello! My name is G4MEFRE4K and I'm new here, well not new to this site, but new to writing, also sorry if the characters sound odd or weird but writing a story is new to me and I hope that you can help me out with this. If any of this sounds familiar I'm using references from the anime, manga, the visual novel and another great author named James D. Fawkes.**

**Shirou's Harem:**

**Arturia**

**Rider**

**Sakura**

**Rin**

**Illya (maybe.)**

**Well hope to see you in the next chapter, Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2: Familiar Faces

"Regular Speech"

_"Thoughts"_

"Shirou you know this girl?" Saber asks, she looks at at Shirou who was shifting uncomfortably from her gaze.

"Well not really but we go to the same school together and she is the number one student there, I would have to be a complete idiot to not know her."

"How generous of you Emiya-kun but more importantly do you know what your involved in? How much responsibility you have to carry?" She looks at him questionably.

Shirou had to lie _again _but it was for the best "Not very much, all I know is what Saber told me, of how there are 7 masters and how each are chosen to compete, how they fight to the death with their servants and try to obtain the holy grail and get there wish granted."

Rin was silent for a moment "Well it's not as much as I hoped to hear but you at least got the basic gist of what's happening, let's go inside I'll tell you more about the war then."

As Shirou starts to move he feels Saber walk up beside him, "Shirou, it seems that she doesn't have any ill intentions against you." She suddenly gets even more serious "Master you should listen to what she has to say, everything you learn will help you win the war." As soon as she finished she walks away. _"Win the war huh? This time it will be different, this time I will save everyone I love with no_ casualties._"_ Shirou looks at his left hand and slowly makes a strong fist, he looks to the sky and walks away. What Shirou didn't notice was a certain Red Knight watching him. **Archer** narrows his eyes when he watches him go, _"You interest me Emiya Shirou, something is off about you and I tend to find out what it is."_ and he also fades away.

* * *

Everyone was slowly walking to the Emiya Household, when they arrived Rin notices the window, that who know what happened was broken, probably something to do with Lancer. Rin walks up to it and before his very eyes the glass reforms and is just like brand new.

"There good as new, you should be thankful for that Emiya-kun."

"Though you probably could have done that yourself." She said

Shirou rubs the back of his head "Sorry I can't do any of those things." He said sheepishly

Rin immediately halts her steps and does a complete 180 turn "What!" she shreaks Shirou winces with the tone, "How could you not know! That's this simplest thing they teach you!"

"Well I never had anyone to teach me, all I had was my old man and he barely taught me anything."

Rin furrowed her eyebrows "Do you at least know your origin or the 5 elements?"

"Nope."

"Do you know how to make defensive walls against other magi?"

"No sorry."

"How about a magic circle?"

"Still no."

"WELL WHAT CAN YOU DO?!" She screams

Shirou's mind went blank _"I think I'm deaf..."_

"Well I know how to do **Projection** and **Reinforcement**, and you saw them in action. Shirou stated_  
_

Rin was silent thinking about the right words "Well you seem to grasp those two techniques well enough where they can't harm you, and you can utilize it in combat to a very high degree, BUT you are still a complete novice, you don't even know the most basic of basic spells of a magi."

Shirou rolls his eyes "Well we cant all be like the great and powerful Tohsaka."

She smirks and walks to the dining room.

* * *

Shirou prepares tea for everyone there, it seems like it will be a long night.

"Alright I'm as ready as I'll ever be." He said

"As you know 7 masters are chosen to become masters to compete and achieve the Holy Grail, Also Magi can only become masters. Like me and I guess you too are magi, I still can't believe you of all people became a master." She grumbles the last part. "Anyway for each master they get 3 command signs, 3 absolute commands that the servant can never disobey. The power that each command seal holds is almost as powerful as true magic, for example if you are in danger and you are away from your servant you could teleport her using one of your command seals. Furthermore, once you use all if your command seals then your servant will no longer serve you, their power is incomparable to a mere human." She pauses to sip her tea. "Now on to the actual servants, the Servants are actually spirits of legendary hero's summoned across time. The past, present and even future, they are beings who were recognized by there great feats and are taken to the "Throne of Heroes" when they die."

"The Holy Grail divides them into several different classes that can be summoned into this world."

Saber.

Lancer.

Archer.

Rider.

Berserker.

Caster.

Assassin.

"These 7 classes are distributed and given to the most similar master. Once that is done they will fight for their master to survive and attempt to kill the other masters for the grail." Rin finishes the rest of her tea and gets up, "Well I best be going now Emiya-kun, but you should come too." Shirou sees red for a moment he was knew where he was going he was going to see **him** again, "Where are we going?" He asks he tries to not break the table in his grasp. She turns to look at him "Were going to see the man that oversees the war."

* * *

Shirou, Saber and Rin slowly walk to there destination, Rin keeps glancing back at Saber "Um, Emiya-kun couldn't you have tried to hide Saber at least a little?" Saber is standing there in her shining armor just watching, waiting for the outcome of this talk. Shirou shrugs "I didn't see the point of making her wear anything I have and everything I have will just look plain weird on her, what you expect to me to do embarrass her and make her wear like a raincoat or something? Plus it's nighttime so not many people will see her anyway." Rin thought about it for moment and nods her head , while Saber smiles at what her master has said. "We're here this is Kotomine Church." Rin state, Shirou grits his teeth, he clenches his fists trying not to destroy that damn place with every step he took.

"Master I will stay out here and make sure no other enemies appear." Shirou nods his head and heads inside with Rin.

"Kirei! Where are you? I brought the Seventh Master."

Shirou sees **him** again he sees **h****is **false smile he sees **h****i****s** dead eyes.

**Kotomine Kirei.**

"Welcome, young one. I am Kotomine Kirei."

Shirou had to lie this time too. He didnt care. "So you are the supervisor for this war?" Shirou asked calmly, Shirou may look calm but it took every bit of will power to not Excalibur him in the face.

He grins, the bastard, "Exactly, tell me young one what is your name?"

"Shirou Emiya."

His eyes widen slightly, "Emiya... I see so you are the last master." He chuckles lightly "We'll Emiya Shirou do you accept your role as the seventh master?" He watched as Shirou pauses.

"Well for the most part but I still need help as to understand what exactly is happening, what I heard for Saber and Rin helped a lot but I need more information." Kotomine stares at him for a moment and grins "Very well Shirou Emiya let me tell you this, becoming a master is not something handed down, it doesn't matter if this was a mistake or not because you were chosen by the Holy Grail, The Seven Master and Servant pairs participating in this war were not chosen because they wanted to be; they are chosen to determine who is the best of the best, who is worthy enough to possess the Holy Grail. The Grail can grant any wish that you desire, 10 years ago in the 4th Holy Grail War the winner was a stupid master, he ended up causing a tragedy that killed many innocent lives. He sees Shirou is silent "Do you understand now Emiya Shirou, what position you are in?" Shirou slowly looks up to Kotomine Kirei "Yes I understand, I'll do it, I'll become the final master I'll do it to stop another tragedy from ever happening again."

Kirei nods his head "Very well" Kirei said "The seven masters have been chosen, I now declare the start of the Fifth Holy Grail War!"

"Were finished here Emiya, let's go."

As Shirou is leaving "Rejoice, my son, for at last your wish will be granted!" He yells

Shirou just ignored him as he walks out.

Shirou still sees Saber she is quick and ready to strike. Her eyes and His lock "Come on Saber there is nothing to do let's go home."

They all soon walk in a comfortable silence the only noise heard was their own footsteps. "I've done all that I could, I think that you can survive on your own now." Shirou gives her a warm smile "Thank you Tohsaka, I couldn't have done it without you." She had very slight blush on her face "Hmmph, whatever it's not like I did it because I wanted to, I was repaying a debt besides after this were enemies again."

Shirou grins "Sure." He sees her face gets slightly more red...somethings off, why does this feel so familiar?

Suddenly everything becomes too quiet. Shirou spins around and hears the quiet giggling and small footsteps then he sees _her _the small girl in the violet clothes.

"Hello again Onii-chan" it's _her_, the girl with white hair and red eyes.

**"Illya..." **Shirou mumbles

* * *

"Master! stay back!" Saber immediately gets infront of him.

Illya grabs the sides of her jacket and bows slightly "Hello my name is Illyasviel Von Einzbern."

Rin instantly tenses "What did you say?!"

"Rin you know her?" Shirou asks

"Yeah, the Einzberns they are a family of Magi who have desired the acquisition of the Holy Grail for a very long time, they have always sent an Einzbern to each Grail War."

"So shes a master too?" Shirou asks, he couldn't believe it! Its her, Illya the girl who sacrificed herself for him, he just wants to hold her in his arms, to hug her and never let go to make sure she doesn't go away.

"Thats right Onii-chan! But getting the Grail is not the only thing I'm looking forward to... I'm also here to **k****ill **you as well. I've been waiting for this day for a long time Onii-chan, that's why I'll be sure to kill you as gently as possible." Illya snaps her fingers.

"Come Berserker!"

There stood the grey giant, the beast that can survive 12 times without backing down, the one who could forcibly rip off the shadow that tried to consume him.

**Hercules.**

**"..." **He stood there watching, waiting for the command.

"Enough talk! Go Berserker! Destroy them all!"

**"!"** He roars and charges, Shirou sees the Blackened Berserker again, charging toward him at alarming speeds.

"Master! Stay Back!" Saber blocks Berserkers over head strike, the power makes Saber slide back "Ugh!" Every hit is either blocked or evaded and each hit that missed destroys walls, pavement and cars like a hot knife through butter.

"He's swinging that thing like a toy!" Rin Said

While the battle is taking place Rin is watching with great interest _"Incredible! Berserker classes are provided a boost of strength in exchange for there sanity, and normally servants like these are supposed to severely lack in the mental department, but to think someone like this exists!"_

She then looks to Saber _"But what he's fighting is no joke either, a master swordsmen of her degree, will use her magical energy contained all around her body and launch a counterattack of super human speed and power to take him down!"_

Saber looks back when she blocks one of Berserkers hits _"Now Master, Hurry!"_

Rin grabs Shirou's hand "Let's go Emiya-kun, we have to get out of here!"

"Wait! Rin we can't just leave her here!"

"All were doing is getting in the way Shirou-kun, Saber is fully capable of finding an opening and delivering the final blow on Berserker."

"..." Shirou is silent, _"I know I can defeat him! I just need to get close enough!"_

"Where do you think your going Onii-chan? It doesn't matter where you run off to, because you will never defeat my Berserker! I mean he is Hercules after all, the Greatest Hero of Ancient Greece!"

Rin paled a little_ "Hercules?! this is bad!"_

"Did you know that servants are spirits of heroes who were summoned to the present world? You had to have known that Rin, anyway the extent of their existence here is influenced by how much they are known across the world, Therefore if the servant is well known around the world the stronger they are as a servant. That is why no one can ever match my Hercules!"

As soon as she finishes an object is sent flying next to Shirou and Rin, as soon as the dust clears they see Saber is on the ground with blood going down her face.

"Saber!" Damn it!

"Ma...Master..."

Berserker charges again, Saber immediately gets up and blocks each swing, but with each swing Saber is getting pushed back more and more. Saber is losing, Rin tries to help by sending a Gandr Shot at him, but it bounces uselessly off him, With each mighty swing Saber is forced to block and evade more and more, Saber again is forced to block an over head strike, the force of the hit breaks the pavement and forces her to one knee. With a roar Berserker redirects his blade and slams her to the wall, she coughs blood.

"Please...Get away Master..." Berserker roars and charges with one more swing.

Shirou sees that swing will kill her. Shirou could have done many things, he could have attempted to block Berserkers strike, he could have sent sword after sword against him, he could have even used Gae Bolg, but Shirou ignored all of those to push her out of the way.

"Eh?" Saber feels blood splatter her face yet there is no pain, she then sees Shirou standing where she stood with a large chunk of his stomach ripped open. "Master!"

_"Heh it happened again huh? Me and my stupid brain always defending others." _Shirou turns to Saber who is still in shock.

"Well Saber it seems that I already broke your promise...sorry...abo...ut...that..."

Shirou falls in a pool of his own blood.

"Master, Why!"

"Emiya-kun!"

Rin sees that they are completly defenceless against Illya and Berserker.

"...This is boring. We're leaving, come Berser-" as soon as she was about to finish those words everyone hears a screeching noise like when two swords are grating against each other. Saber sees a shadow behind her, she sees Shirou is up and walking closer to Berserker, but something looks off, where the gaping hole should be is covered by what looks like plated armor but the blood's still seeping through.

"Master, what are you doing?!" Saber couldn't get up because of her wounds.

"Stop, Emiya-kun!"

Shirou coughs blood "Where the hell do you think your going? How about round 2 Eh, Berserker?"

Shirou rips off his left sleeve and imagines the 'Shroud' and takes it off.

**Pain.**

Shirou feels his body breaking down, he feels the swords skewer his body. He pumps as much Od as he can.

He closes his eyes "Trace On,"

_***CRACK***_

"Guh!" Something important disappeared in his mind something meaningful, but that didn't matter right now he had to image the one weapon that killed Berserker 9 times in one go, the same weapon that gave him the strength to do so.

When Shirou opens his eyes he sees the same weapon that Berserker has and with that he has its secret.

_"Damn, this isn't even close to Berserkers at all, it's not even as good as the one I traced before...I'll have to make do with what I got!"_

**"9 Lives Blade Works"** Shirou lifts the mighty weapon and charges at Berserker, not even Berserker could block these hits.

Upper arm.

Collarbone.

Windpipe.

Temple.

Diaphragm.

Rib

Testicles.

Thighs.

All hit simultaneously faster than the speed of sound, destroying 80% of his body, with one final lance like thrust Shirou stabs him in the heart.

Everyone is silent.

"Oni...Onii-chan took away 3 of his lives!" Shirou grimaced, only 3? He knew it wasn't as good as before but 3? Seriously?

"Guh!" The swords pierce out of his body he feels them pierce his organs, he feels his bones break, his mind melting.

"Master! What's happening to you?!" What's happening to him? He has swords coming out of his skin!

"Oh my God, Emiya-kun!"

"Hmmph! Come Berserker were leaving!" With that she turns and the regenerated Berserker follows wordlessly.

Shirou felt like he was dying again, like he was losing everything that defines him. Shirou closes his eyes and 'Tightens the Shroud' feeling Archers influence go away, slowly ever so slowly the swords recede back into **Unlimited Blade Works.**

"Heh not bad, not bad at all." Shirou mumbles. He then falls, he sees Saber and Rin run up to him and call out to him, he tries to tell them he's okay, but his eyes feel heavy, he used the arm too much. He soon falls into blissful unconsciousness.

**Authors Notes:**

**Well that the new chapter, sorry it took so long but, writing is hard! Again please send me any messages on what to improve on. Review and have good day!**


	3. Chapter 3: Explanations

"Regular Speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_"Where am I?"_ Shirou opens his eyes to see a vast plain farther then the eye could see. He then sees a younger Saber and man approach a sword stuck in stone. "Whosoe'er pulleth out this sword of this stone is rightwise king born of England." he said, As Saber reaches for the sword he speaks again, "Remember Arthur you will no longer be human."Her eyes meet the other man's "Of course Merlin" Saber grabs the sword without hesitation and a golden light bathes her.

Shirou wakes up with a groan and a dull ache in his head. _"What hit me?" _As soon as he spoke those words he remembered everything, how Saber was being beaten by Berserker, how Berserker nearly cut him in half, how he used Berserkers own blade to kill him multiple times.

Shirou felt a twitch of phantom pain on his side, _"What, the wounds healed?" _He was sure there would be more damage, especially with all those swords..."Well I'm sure Rin can explain this." Shirou mumbles, he gets up and as he reached for the sliding door it opens and he losses his balance "Whoa!" he then falls on something else "Oof!" A voice said, they fall in a tangle of limbs, as he laid there his hand feels something soft...wait soft? Shirou opens his eyes and sees he's fallen on Saber...and his hand is directly on her chest. He sees Saber trying to keep a calm face, but that was promptly ruined by the small blush on her face.

They are both silent

"..."

"..."

Shirou wordlessly gets up with a very red face and goes to freshen up. While Shirou is in the bathroom he notices a starburst scar directly where his heart is _"Where'd this come from?"_ He looks at his back and notices the same exact scar is there too _"Must have something to do with Lancer...again." _When Shirou returns from the bathroom he sees Rin looking through the cabinets for something, he also sees Saber siting at the table, there eyes meet and he sees her face heat up again, he has to admit it looks cute.

"Ah Emiya-kun your awake, you know you should at least have better tea than this, next time buy the triangle ones." She sets down the cups of tea, "Do you remember what happened last night, Shirou?"

He wants the hear what happened after, he gives a shrug "Kinda, some parts are fuzzy, can you tell me what happened?"

Rin closes her eyes "For the most part it was fine, Berserker and Illyasviel left, your...swords went away and Saber recovered enough to move. But the strangest part was when your body healed just like that!" She practically screamed that part

Shirou is just as confused as her, _"What's going on?"_

Saber speaks up "What happened Rin? I thought it had to do with either Shirou's or your healing magic?"

Rin shakes her head "No I don't know that kind of stuff, and Emiya especially doesn't know that stuff." Shirou grumbles slightly

"Even if I did I don't have nearly enough magic power for anything like that." She sips her tea calmly

Shirou rubs his chin "Hmm...By the way Saber how are your wounds, you okay now?"

Saber calmly looks to Shirou "Do not worry about me Master my wounds were minimal compared to yours, we Servants possess self repairing abilities, so given time we can heal from any amount of damage."

"Oh!" Rin declares "That must be it! Maybe Sabers healing abilities are affecting Shirou somehow!" She pound her fist onto the palm of her other hand.

"With your incomplete summon of Saber it must have made a connection from that mistake."

Shirou is silent "...Sorry about that Saber, even when I'm protecting you, you still save me in the end."

Rin frowns "If your going to apologize then you should apologize for that VERY reckless thing you did. Standing up to a monster like Berserker is complete suicide with a live body, and also doing it for your servant is completely wrong!"

Shirou looks to her then looks to his left arm "There wasn't any other choice for what I did, If I didn't push Saber out of the way then she would have died!" He sees Saber shift to look directly at him

"Master, thinking of saving me in the first place is wrong, Servants live to have their Masters win, A Master taking a blow for a Servant goes against all reason!"

Shirou clenches his fists hard enough to draw blood, "If I have the abilities to help others, what's the point of even having that power! If this situation were to happen again I would gladly do it again and again to save you!"

"It doesn't work like that Emiya! If you died then Saber would have disappeared, even if you saved her and you died it would be completely pointless!"

_"Why are they teaming up on me? I can easily take care of myself and protect them, they saw what I did to Berserker." _

"Master, at times like those your suppose to run away. Even if I'm defeated then you can live on."

"I can take care of myself just fine thank you very much! Why can't you guys understand? You both saw what I'm capable of."

"By the way, Emiya-kun what was happening yesterday? Why were those swords coming out of your body?"

"Yes Master, what happened?"

Shirou suddenly felt the scrutinized gaze of two very scary women, he breaks out in a cold sweat, _"Oh crap! I knew this was going to come back to bite me!" _He had to think fast!

"I don't know maybe it has to do with my Projection and Reinforcement magic?" Please buy it!

Rin contemplates those words "Hmm...maybe, it could be possible that using those two together can have a nasty side-effect...It could be possible with your constant concentration for reinforcement that you possibly project the swords into your body by accident. I have to research this more..."

Shirou silently sighs in relief, he doesn't notice Saber give him a suspicious look

While Shirou is calming down he looks at his clothes and notices it doesn't have his sleeve ripped off and isnt full of holes "Huh?" Shirou pats himself down.

"Oh right. You were covered in blood so I changed your clothes." Rin replies casually

"...What?"

She giggles "Whats wrong Emiya-kun? It's not like I did anything."

Shirou's face turn red "N-no! That's not what I meant!"

"Rin, maybe you should stop, Shirou is looking uncomfortable."

"Oh? What's this Saber, coming to your Master's side? I didn't know you felt that way about him?"

Sabers face turns very red "Th-thats not it at all, he is my Master and I am his Servant, I must help him, even in things as small as this, excuse me." She gets up and leaves to the kitchen

Rin begins to laugh, looking at the wonderful amusement she's created, she calms down enough to talk

"Besides that what's your next plan of action Emiya-kun?"

"For the Grail War? Not really sure, I mean so far I survived an encounter with two Servants and lived, Saber's safe and your safe so I don't really know what to do. The only thing I really want to do is prevent what happened 10 years ago from happening ever again, I don't want there to be another tragedy".

Rin frowns slightly "You shouldn't say that kind of stuff in front of Saber Emiya-kun she'd probably kill you. Do you think Servants answer the call of a Master to only help them achieve the Holy Grail? Whoever the winner is, the Servant and Master gets their wish granted, That is why most heroes become Servants, to get something they dearly wished for granted by the Holy Grail." She finishes with a sip of her tea. " I ask again Emiya-kun what will you do?"

Shirou is silent for a moment "For now I want to relax, I'll deal with all these problems tommorow, you can stay here for as long as you want Rin, I'm going to get some fresh air."

His immediate destination is to the Dojo, he pauses when he reaches the door _"Huh, I haven't been here since Dad died..." _When he enters the Dojo he immediately starts to meditate, while he meditates he thinks about what happened yesterday _"I need to get stronger last night didn't cut it, I barley survived my war and that encounter with Berserker just showed how much more training I need."_

Shirou hears the sliding door open, he sees Saber is standing there

"So you were here Master."

"Oh Saber, are you here to join me?"

She shakes her head "No I'm here to inform you that Rin is leaving."

He nods his head "Thank you Saber, I probably should see her out."

"...Saber?"

"Yes Shirou?"

"Well it's about what happened in the morning, I just wanted to apologize for what I did."

He see her face blush "Not to worry Master what happened, happened it was an honest mistake."

Shirou smiles "I'm glad you understand." He's just glad she's not angry

"I've been meaning to ask you this Master, as soon as you are finished and Rin leaves we should go on immediate reconnaissance."

"Wait Saber, I don't want to go and challenge anyone."

"What...?" She's dumbfounded

"There only going for the Holy Grail right? I'm not really interested in the Grail and I don't want to get into useless fights."

"Wh-what are you saying?! Your just going to sit here and wait when we could go out and eliminate the others masters?!"

Shirou shakes his head "No, Saber right now it seems that there are other masters that want to drag innocent lives into the war, we should deal with them first.

"Oh, I knew you were going to be like this Emiya-kun."

Saber turn around "Rin!"

"Sorry. I heard you two were talking, so..." She let that hang

"What will it be Emiya-kun? You won't challenge anyone to fight, but you'll defeat any masters that appear. Is that what your planning? Your just contradicting yourself Emiya, How do you plan to stop those evil masters?"

Shirou's face is shadowed, he looks up with fire in his eyes "When the time comes I will defeat them, and if push comes to shove I will kill them, I know I can't save everyone, that's impossible, but I will always keep my loved ones safe, whoever this is he is threatening the lives of my loved ones, this will only get worse and worse until someone dies. That's why he cannot be aloud to live!"

"Emiya-kun..."

"Master..."

Rin recovers quickly "I'm going Emiya-kun, and a word of advice. To win the Grail you have to defeat the other masters to achieve the Holy Grail, and remember I'm no exception to that, as soon as I leave were enemies again. Don't think of me as human anymore."

As she is leaving "Are you satisfied now Rin?" A voice said

"Archer..."

"This isn't like you Rin, helping another Master this much." He said

"...I told you didn't I? I had to repay him, besides that its my fault that he'a stuck in this, that's why I need to pay him back."

"Hmm? But Rin, don't you think you've paid him back enough? I didn't want to say it but I'll say it. If your also a master aiming for the Holy Grail, then hurry up and move it."

"...I know"

"Heh, If I didn't know any better I'd say you have feelings for him."

"Wh-what? Idiot! Don't say stuff like that! Come we're leaving, and you better not say another word or else!"

Archer smirks "My what a frightening master I have."

"What did I just say!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Shirou is in his room looking at his ruined clothes, _"Man, Berserker sure did a number on this. Of course I did some damage too. Well I guess I have to throw this away." _Shirou notices a large ruby necklace on the floor next to his clothes.

He smiles _"Heh, I remember this..."_ He hears footsteps approaching and he quickly puts the necklace in his desk.

It's Saber "Master I have something's to discuss with you; is now okay?"

Shirou and Saber soon enter the kitchen and Shirou makes tea "Ah, so what do you want to talk about Saber?"

"There are two things I would like to discuss with you, the first is this, normally a Servant would tells you his or her name as part of the contract agreement, but I would rather not tell you mine, please excuse the discourtesy."

"So the name of the servant is what their names were when they were a legendary hero?"

"Yes, knowing your servants name will give you a better understanding of a servants capabilities. But if an enemy master knows this they can determine the weaknesses of the servant too. If you knew my name and you were captured, you could be manipulated into giving all your secrets."

Shirou already knew most things but he had to play along "Hmm, yes I understand Saber. I agree with what your thinking."

"Thank you Master. The second thing I wanted to tell you about is that you cannot supply me with mana. Normally a Servant receives a constant supply of prana from their master to maintain their existence in this world. Yet we cannot do such things at the moment."

"Hmm well I figured, since Rin told me that we have an incomplete connection... If this keeps up will you...?"

"Yes if this continues I will be unable to keep my existence and fade away."

"You should have told me sooner! We could have tried to find a way to fix it."

"No Shirou it would have taken to long and even though I said I have no way to replenish it, I still have a sufficient amount of prana and I will not exhaust it all in this war. But there's still a chance I will run out, so I'll use as little as possible."

"Oh, so thats how it is, well I think its time for me to show you your room, do you want me to show you it now?"

"Shirou will I be separated from you?"

"Well your room will be right next to mine, so you should be fine with that right?"

"Wait a minute Shirou, I can't accept that! I must sleep in the same room as you. This is the duty of a servant to a master!"

"E-Eh?! Saber I can't allow that! Its improper to have you in the same room as me!"

"Stop being an idiot Master! When a Master sleeps, that is the most dangerous time for them! Some Servants are able to completely mask their very presence! So that is why I must sleep in the same bed as Shirou!"

"No! Definitely not, your a girl Saber! I can't allow this!"

"Wh-what kind of nonsense is that?! I am a Servant before I'm a woman! Even if you call me a woman..."

"Argh! Shut up! Just shut up! No means no Sa-" As Shirou is about to yell at her more he hears his door ring.

Shirous heart nearly stops _"How could I forget about her?" _Shirou looks to Saber "We'll continue this later, for now I need you to hide, please go to the dojo." He sees Saber is about to protest "Please?

Sabers protest die in her throat "...Fine but remember that we will continue this later." She turns and leaves

Shirou makes sure she is gone _"With everything thats been happening, I completely forgot about her, the girl who I sacrificed nearly everything for, the girl who i've given up my ideals for, the girl who I've fallen in love with..." _

He hears the doorbell ring again "Ah! Okay, okay I'm coming!" He opens the door

"Good evening, Senpai."

**Sakura Matou**

**Authors Notes:**

**Hello everyone! Sorry if this chapter is boring to you but you always need one of these for every fan-fiction story. I'm also sorry for the long wait but here's the new chapter, in case your wondering I'm mostly using the manga right now for reference, but don't worry I will use the visual novel soon enough for certain events..., I'm also sorry if I'm making the characters seem OOC but I'm not sure I've been making them sound right or not, I'm not even sure I'm expressing their emotions well either *cough* Tsundere Rin *cough* so please tell me any mistakes I've made and I will gladly change them! I'm no Gabriel Blessing so please help me out and tell me my mistakes. Review and have a wonderful day!**

**P.S- Sorry if some you will get angry at me for this but no LEMONS, I MIGHT make slight lime scenes but going into complete detail for those scenes is a big No, No for me. I'm already struggling enough with the characters personality and also trying to make the story as close to the manga, anime and visual novel as much as possible.**

**P.S.S- An update of Shirous Harem! (Not really.)**

**Arturia**

**Rider**

**Sakura**

**Rin**

**Illya(Nope not anymore, thought about it, didn't like it. As simple as that. I'm no lolicon! Even if she is technically older than Shirou... Well no more talk , need to write the next chapter!) Bye!**

**P.S.S.S (last one I promise!) I'm thinking of adding Caster into the harem, please tell me if you like this idea or not.**


	4. Chapter 4: Complications

"Regular Speech"

_"Thoughts"_

"Ah! Good evening as well Sakura!...Hmm? Fuji-nee not with you?"

She nods her head "Yes she had some things to take care of at the staff room in school so I left before her. Anyway Senpai, how is dinner coming along? Are you finished?"

"Ah...I'm still working on it sorry, but could you help me?"

"Don't worry Senpai I don't mind, I also bought some rockfish since it was cheap."

"Oh! That's nice should we have it with the mixed sauce?"

Shirou and Sakura put on their aprons and get ready to prepare dinner.

"Do you want me to gut the fish?"

"No I got it since their are spines, can you handle the sauce?"

She nods her head and gets to work, while Shirou is gutting the fish he's deep in thought _"I can't allow her to become that **thing **again, I will save her and never let her get hurt again_" He looks to Sakura, he sees her beautiful face flash to something else _"No Senpai. I'll probably end up hurting you...I'm going to hurt you, Senpai, but...I want to stay like this."_ Shirou grimaces "_Never again."_

"Ouch!"

"Oh! Senpai are you okay?!" Her face is full of concern

" Ah, Don't worry I just got a little cut on my finger."

"Here give me your hand." She grabs his hand and he feels how soft and warm it is. His face heats up remembering _that _night he shared with her.

"There all better Senpai, you should be more careful!" She looks to his face and sees its red _"Is he...blushing? Why would he blush? The only reason he would is..." _She sees that her hand is holding his _"Does that mean he's embarrassed to hold my hand?!" _Her face gains a dazed and happy look.

"...Um Sakura?"

"...Yes...?" She asks in a daze

"Could you let go of my hand please?" His face is on fire.

"Ah! Sorry Senpai!"

"Don't worry Sakura...well I think we should continue with dinner. Sorry Sakura, for making you help me with this. Your probably tired from your activities."

"I don't mind Senpai, I selfishly intruded so please let me do at least this much."

"What are you talking about Sakura? Your a part of this family too, your welcome here for as long as you want."

Meanwhile a certain someone is stealing food fom the kitchen "Hey Fuji-nee!" He smacks her in the head with a ladle.

"Fugya!" She rubs her head with tears in her eyes

"Stop grabbing food from the kitchen!"

"Come on Shirou~ Can't you over look this one~?"

"No way, it's bad manners! The point is though when did you get back?"

"Ehehehe~ I snuck in a while ago through the porch." She looks at the food "Hey Sakura-chan it's fine if I eat some of this, right? She looks with pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry but it will be dinner soon so please restrain yourself, Fujimura-sensei!"

"E-eh! But why?!"

* * *

Everyone sits down and enjoy the food. "Very well shall we eat?" Shirou said

Fuji-nee was practically waiting for that "Yes, let's eat!" She declares

She digs in with gusto but sees Shirou is not eating "Shirou is something wrong?"

_"This is not right I force Saber to sit alone while I enjoy food and company? I can't accept that!" _Shirou looks up "Excuse me, I need to get something." He gets up and leaves.

They soon hear Shirou's voice arguing with **another **voice

He comes back with a girl "Everyone this is Saber she's...an associate of Kiritsugu's that here for a couple of weeks on business."

"...Hello Saber-san." Sakura says quietly

"SHIROU! Fuji-nee roars, he swore he saw a tiger behind her "WHY DID YOU HIDE HER FROM ME? ARE YOU SOME KIND OF PERVERT?!" She then pulls a shinai from who knows where.

Shirou lifts his hands "N-now Fuji-nee I didn't tell you because I knew you would react like this!"

She hears absolutely nothing "SHIROU! She swings it down "DIE!"

As soon as she swings down, all she hits is air...because she doesn't even have a shinai to hit with. She grabs in the air a couple of times, and her eyes widen in surprise she looks around and meets the cold eyes of Saber holding her Shina. "I would appreciate it if you dont strike Shirou when he's explaining why I'm here."

"Y-you!" She growls

"Please calm down Fuji-nee! I told you their is a very good reason to all of this."

She crosses her arms under her chest "Start. Talking. Now!"

"She's an old associate of Kiritsugu's and when I heard that she was visiting, I let her stay here until she's done."

Saber talks as well "Yes Kiritsugu... is an old friend and when Shirou heard that I have business here, he was kind enough to let me stay here."

"Fine! You can stay, your lucky that Shirou is such a gentleman or I wouldn't trust this one bit!" She glares at Saber and Shirou

"...Well since that's over with shall we eat now?" Shirou said

As soon as they start Shirou immediatly notices the stew.

"Ah! Sakura you made this stew right?"

"Yes I did, is the flavor too much?"

"No, it's fine I think it's just right."

"Yes I agree, Hey Shirou~ Don't you think Sakura will be a good wife?"

Sakura blushes "Wh-what! I do-don't thin-"

Shirou smiles "Yes, I think she will."

Sakura's entire face glows red, if you look hard enough you could see steam coming out of her ears too.

"I-I'll go get the tea!" She hurries off

Sabers bowl is soon presented to him "Shirou, seconds."

"Ah, right away!"

Taiga giggles, "I can't believe its been more that a year since Sakura-chan came along."

"Yeah that's right..."

"Ehehehe~ hey Shirou, don't you think Sakura is pretty sexy now~?"

Shirou face reddens and he coughs into his hand "...What are you saying Fuji-nee?"

Her bowl is presented again "Shirou, thirds."

"Ah! here you go!"

"Hehe, nothing important." She turns on the T.V

["Up next, The News: Early this morning in the residental district surrounding the Fuyuki City school..."]

"Hey Shirou! Come look!"

["...the corpses of the entire household were discovered."]

"It's been dangerous lately, hasn't it?" She muses

["According to the official investigations the crime was commited with a large edged weapon... At the moment a headquarters is being established by Miyama-Chou and authorities are rushing to develop a criminal profile..."]

"They are saying that their was alot in Shinto, too."

Shirou didn't hear anything else besides that _"What a murder in Fuyuki City?!...Don't tell me, this is related to the Holy Grail War... Lancer has to be the culprit huh? He has to be stopped..."_

"Senpai? Senpai? Senpai!" Sakura's face is etched with worry

"Huh?! Ah sorry, sorry! I was thinking about something."

"What were you thinking about Shirou?" Saber said

"Ah, don't worry about it." Shirou smile is fake

Fuji-nee looks concerned "I know you have a strong sense of responsibility, but you can't take care of everything."

"Yeah I know Fuji-nee."

Shirou looks at the table "Huh... I guess all the foods gone." He sees Saber with a satisfied expression.

Fuji-nee looks at the table "What?!" She is silent...for a moment

"NOOOOOOOOO!" She falls to the ground and cries anime tears.

Sakura sweatdrops "Eheheheh... dont worry Fujimura-sensei! I promise to cook twice as much tomorrow, how does that sound?"

Fuji-nee sniffs "R-really?"

Sakura smiles "Yes."

"Hooray!" her personality shifts in an instant.

"Well Sakura I think it's time to leave, we'll see you later Shirou."

"Senpai are you sure you don't need help with the dishes?"

"Yeah don't worry you already did enough today." He smiles warmly "Thank you..."

Her face blushes and she nods her head "G-good night Senpai."

"Yeah be careful out there."

Shirou closes the door and hears footsteps behind him "Shirou."

"Ah Saber, sorry for neglecting you like that."

She shakes her head "I don't mind, so Shirou they are your...?"

"Yeah I guess you could say their my family they are people who are important to me."

Saber nods "I see so they are unrelated to the Holy Grail War?"

_"Well one of them is..." _Shirou looks to Saber "...Yeah everyone lives in this city peacefully, so I cant forgive anyone who threatens that peace."

"So this is Shirous reason for joining the war...? Anyway Shirou we still need to discuss our sleeping arrangements."

"Saber..." He starts

"Shirou it would give a better chance for your survival, the slightest threat that appears, will be detected by me and will be eliminated."

"But Saber..." He tries again

"Master if you are alone there is a stronger chance you will die, but your chances of survival are stronger with me present."

"...Your not going to stop this are you?" She nods her head

Shirou sighs "Fine, fine you win, but first help me clean the dishes."

They soon reach their destination "So this is Shirous room..." It is a very plain room, no pictures, no personal items, just a small table and pillow to sit on.

"Is it bad?"

"No, no it suits you."

"You know Saber if this was anyone else I would say no, but I trust you. I'm still a little uncomfortable with the idea but with you I'll work with it."

She smiles "Thank you for understanding." She said warmly

"Well I think we should sleep now." He lays down and she follows suit.

* * *

Saber is staring at the back of Shirou's head and notices how calms he is, how his breathing slows and his muscles relax, he's fallen asleep, Shirou then unconsciously turns over and grabs Saber, pulling her closer to his chest. Her cheeks burn slightly, she feels how muscular he actually is, how he holds her to his body. She feels his warm breath hit her head. Something stir's in her chest that she's never felt before, she is then slowly lulled to sleep by Shirou's beating heart _"It's peaceful..." _her eyes close not to open for a long time.

Saber opens her eyes to see she's in a large cave _"Where am I?" _she hears footsteps and sees a beautiful woman, she has long purple hair, a skin tight dress that barley covers her...assets, arm and thigh length sleeves and the strangest part is a blindfold covering her face, She then sees Shirou walk out as well, but his appearence is different, he has a slightly larger left arm that is covered by what appears to be a red cloth, if you look closely enough you can see the hand is tan. They look as if their discussing something but she can't hear anything yet, they both nod and the woman takes her blindfold off showing her strange eyes, they are bright pink with rectangle pupils.

But the next thing she sees makes her go pale, she stumbles and nearly falls if she didn't catch herself, she feels nauseous, she sees **herself**. But the difference is that she looks...corrupted, she has pale skin and dead yellow eyes, black demonic armor and **Excalibur **her holy sword transformed into that, that thing!

Saber sees the purple haired woman charge at 'Dark Saber' at blinding speeds, speeds which is even trouble for her to follow. She uses spiked daggers with chains on the end, but the demonic knight blocks each hit easily, the purple haired beauty is starting to slow down, 'Dark Saber' is clearly stronger than her in a lot of categories. What 'Dark Saber' doesn't notice is that the she is weaving the chains around her body with each strike, as soon as 'Dark Saber' is about to deliver the final strike, the other woman retreats.

"!" 'Dark Saber' than charges her body and sword with mana, easily breaking the chains.

"You cannot stop me with such a thing!" but it seems that opening is just enough for the other servant to activate her Noble Phantasm. A large magical circle appears in front of her with a large eye in the center.

"Saber!"

"Come Rider!"

**"BELLERO-...!"**

'Dark Saber' activates her's as well.

**"EX-...!"**

Both attacks are charged to the max.

**"...PHON!**

**"...CALIBUR!"**

What used to be a golden and holy light is instead black and demonic. It is sent at Riders shining comet, she hears noise behind her and sees Shirou shaking in pain, he coughs blood, she sees him completly untie the cloth and he raises his left arm while closing his eyes, when he opens them again he speaks two words.

**"RHO AIAS!" **Saber sees a multi-pedaled flower appear in front of Rider's Noble Phantasm.

The two powerful attacks clash and at first it seems they are evenly matched until Rider's attack starts to slowly push forward.

"Gah!" She sees Shirou's body is being skewered by swords and his left arm starts to horribly convulse, he tries to hold it as hard as he can.

The attacks soon cancel each other out, both servants are sent flying back. Rider is sent slamming into the wall but 'Dark Saber' seems to have gotten the most damage.

Shirou then quickly approach 'Dark Saber' with a large detailed dagger which has a jewel at the bottom of the handle, he straddles her and raises the dagger, he pauses for a moment, his face showing great sadness and pain, he then ends her life with a single strike to her heart.

Saber wakes up in a cold sweat, she's breathing heavily and her hands are trembling.

_"Wh-what was that?! That couldn't have been one of his memories, could it__?"_ She hears a groan and sees Shirou is moving around as if he's searching for something, she smiles at this, her fear slowly going away.

She lays back in the futon and is immediately grabbed again, held closely by Shirou. His heartbeat again calms her down enough to sleep _"I must figure this out tommorow... I bet Rin will know something." _She soon falls asleep trying to put everything behind her until tomorrow.

Shirou wakes up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, he even feels better with the warm body pillow he's hugging...wait that's not right. His eyes finally register what's happening and he nearly panics at what he sees.

He is holding Saber closely to his body, his arm is under her waist and her head is under his chin. Their legs are also tangled together.

Shirou relishes the warmth that she creates, but he has to get up for school, slowly ever so slowly he wiggles out of her grasp and he sees a small frown appear on her face, as if she knows there's something missing, Shirou grins at this.

Shirou does his daily routine and freshens up and soon starts to make breakfast. He hears the doorbell ring and sees the beautiful Sakura standing there. He also sees a rushing Fuji-Nee getting closer and closer.

"Good morning, Senpai!"

"Morning, Shirou~!"

"Ah, Good morning to you two! I was just about to make breakfast, do you want to join me?"

"Yes, that sounds good."

"YAY, FOOD!"

As soon as they finish they all have to leave.

"Senpai, I'll be leaving now."

"Ah! Watch out for cars."

He hears something crash behind him "Sakura-chan! Wait, Wait!" She turns to Shirou "See ya, Shirou! I won't excuse you if your late!"

Shirou sighs "Yeah, yeah don't fall in the street, Fuji-nee."

Shirou looks to his room _"I should probably get ready as well..." _As he opens the sliding door he comes face to face with a neutral faces Saber.

"Wah! You surprised me Saber!"

"Ah, What good timing. Shirou we need to discuss somethings."

"Shirou as far as still attending school, would it not be better if I came along as well?"

"No Saber, sorry but you would stick out like a sore thumb. Masters are supposed to stay inconspicuous, right? and besides I don't think their is any master that is dumb enough to attack in public, and if I do get in trouble I'll use a command seal to get you here."

Saber still doesn't look convinced "Okay Shirou, understood."

Shirou nods "Well I'll be off Saber, if your hungry I made some breakfast for you as well." Shirou leaves and goes to school.

* * *

"Man, Saber still doesn't trust me..." While he walks he sees Rin "Good morning, Tohsaka!" She turns and gives him a blank look "I'm in your debt because of yesterday, you helped me out a lot!" she just gives him a fierce looks and walks away.

_"Huh? What was that about?"_ Shirou scratches his head and walks away.

"Ah! Shirou!...I mean Emiya-kun! Could you help me distribute these?"

"Yeah sure got it, Fuji-nee."

He looks at the paper _"Hmm? A note to parents? Afternoon activates have been shortened and students are recommended to go to school and leave in groups... It must have to do with the murders on T.V yesterday..." _Some time later Shirou is walking down the hall.

"Yo, Emiya!" Shirou immediately tenses at hearing **his **damn voice, he wishes he could just punch him in the face.

Shirou forces a smile "Hey **Shinji**."

"Thanks for cleaning the archery room on Saturday, everyone is thanking you for allowing us to have such a pleasant practice."

Shirou nods his head "If I was helpful than that's good."

Shinji smirks "and since Emiya is a former archery member this is only natural! Isn't that right Emiya?"

Shirou clenches his fist "Yeah if it's something like this than I'll help out anytime."

"Ha Ha Ha! That's right! Get it? This guy is someone like that! If you're ever in trouble, it's fine to ask Emiya!"

"Well I don't mind that bu-" Shinji is already leaving

"See you later, Emiya!" Shirou glares at his departing body

"You know Emiya you shouldn't hang out with guys like them, those kinds of people are spoiled."

"Oh, Issei your here! I don't know but he's not a bad guy." Heh, yeah right

Issei pushes up his glasses "I wonder if your the only person who thinks that way."

He had to play along "Well its because I've known him for such a long time. Sure he has some rough points but that's how he is."

"Hmm... That so. By the way Emiya the department equipment repairs that were requested have been cancelled, our school has also decided it would be better if the after school actives are shortened. Fujimura-Sensei said that during home room because of the murder incidents and all."

Shirou nods his head "Is that so? Understood just let me finish the one we were working on earlier today."

"Okay thats fine, I'll be thankful for that."

It is soon after school and Shirou is finished with the equipment "Phew... well that's over with..." While Shirou is is leaving he sees a shadow above him "Hmm? Oh Tohsaka! Your still here? What was up with the morning? Even when I said thanks for yesterday..."

Tohsaka stares with cold eyes "...Amazing you don't even have your Servant with you, yet you walk around so nonchalantly."

"Eh...? But Saber is unable to change into spirit form, thats no reason for me to not come to school, right?"

"...That's right but if that's the case it would have been better for you to take a break from school."

Shirou shakes his head "You say that but wouldn't being absent feel a little suspicious? Besides magi cannot cause a disturbance in public, right? If that's so than theirs no reason to fight in a place like this."

"That's true but... are there any witnesses now?"

"E-eh?"

"Emiya-kun, the other day when I brought you to the church was not because I wanted you to fight as a master, I wanted you to understand the current state of things, because if you understood I thought you wouldn't do anything reckless. But as I thought all that extra time and effort was a waste. I said it right? **"If we meet again we will be enemies." **She lifts her sleeve

"Yo-you're kidding right, Tohsaka?"

"Even though I made it perfectly clear, it was still completely ineffective wasn't it? Emiya-kun, this is where you die."

"!" Shirou tenses and is ready to fight or better run.

"Wa-wait Tohsaka! I don't want to fight you! We're friends!"

She shoots multiple magic shots at him "Amazing isn't it? You're still saying stuff like that... be at ease; I won't torment you, be thankful your opponent is me!"

Shirou runs and reinforces his legs to get away _"Shit! She's serious! Why does it have to be me?!" _He remembers Sabers words _"The holy grail war consists of seven masters killing each other, the one who survives becomes the victor."_

"Even if you resist it's useless! An inexperienced magus like you can never match me!"

Shirou just continues running and dodging _"Everything I can do will kill her... Just what the hell can I do?!"_

Shirou continues to run while using his bag to block the shots, he drops his bag and turns te corner _"Run away!"_

Rin slows down to see the bag "Tch, using his bag as a shield...is that reinforcement? Still using such simple spells." Archer appears behind her.

"What's delaying you, Rin? As I thought, you shouldn't have given that guy advice, this is where I come in since your emotions are clouding your judgement."

"Stay out of this Archer, starting now I'm getting serious!"

Shirou is soon alone in a random classroom _"What the hell do I do? I don't want to kill her but she's serious!" _Shirou looks to his left arm "I need to prevent as little casualties as possible! I need to defeat her!"

Meanwhile Tohsaka senses Shirou's magical power in a certain classroom. "He reinforced the lock? Ridiculous! He thinks something like this can stop me?!" She blasts the door continuously, each hit breaking it bit by bit.

_"Wait for it... Wait for it... Now!"_ Shirou jumps out the window and appears next to Rin, she notices and shoots Shirou but he throws his reinforced jacket to block the shots, Shirou charges forward and pins her arms over her head and traces a knife and puts it against her throat.

"Ku...!" She can't move.

"Tohsaka! Please listen to me! I don't care about the war! I just want it to end as soon as possible I just want to keep my loved ones safe! So theres no reason for us to fight! So please stop."

"...You idiot! Still saying things like that!"

"Tohsaka!"

"It's useless... I won't make a deal like that, what do I gain by leaving you alive?"

"Tohsaka... Don't make me... Don't make me kill you. If you think involving and threatening their lives as well..."

Tohsaka is silent "Heh... Your so naive."

"Eh!?" Shirou's grip loosens enough where she drops down away from the knife and uses both her legs to kick him away.

"Oof!" Shirou is sent flying back, he hits the wall and slides down.

"Goodbye Emiya-kun, if you have any regrets, curse your own stupidity!"

_"...I guess its come to this..."_ Shirou readies his arms "Trace O-"

As soon as they are about to fight a sudden pressure hit them.

"Damn! Of all the times...!"

"Wha..." Shirou falls to his knees _"What is this...? My strength is fading...!"_

_"_Emiya-kun, hold on! Apply prana to your body, and you should be able to resist the barriers pull." Shirous breathing calmed

Archer materializes behind them "Rin the roof! A Servants presence is coming from there."

"Wa-wait Tohsaka! What the hell is happening?!"

She looks down to Shirou "An enemy has placed a barrier on the school... moreover, any humans will be melted down and absorbed. A nasty thing to do isn't it?"

"Then that means..."

"Yes... our students are the target, their souls are probably being consumed by a servant. It looks like he knew we were here before he attacked but that would be convenient...beating me at my own game!"

"Wait for me! I'll fight too!"

"Idiot, just stay there, you can't do anything! Well leave this for next time so just be quiet! Let's go Archer."

"Yeah." They quickly depart.

_"Isn't there something I can do? I can allow all these lives to end!"_

While Shirou is wandering around ths school, he suddenly gets a feeling to sniff the air. "Hmm? This sweet smell is all around, it started as soon as the barrier was made. It's getting stronger over there... Is that the sign of the barrier?" Shirou soon speeds up where the smell is getting stronger, he opens the door and is outside.

"The woods behind the school?" A sudden force hits him in the face.

"It's here! I don't see anything but there's no mistaking it! This is the heart of the barrier!"

"I'm surprised. You were able to recognize the source?" A voice said_  
_

Shirou can't breath "Even when I was particularly careful in concealing it."

Shirou slowly turns to face _her_ "You found it as simple as that...Hehe, than for your reward... I will give you a peaceful death."

**Rider**

**Authors Notes:**

**I thank you all for your reviews and help! Thanks to you I was able to fix and change any mistakes I made. This is also the longest chapter i ever wrote, over 4000 words!, to some this may seem short but I'm proud of it!**

**Shirou's Harem updated again!**

**Arturia**

**Rider**

**Sakura**

**Rin**

**Caster (she's now part of the harem! After reading more about her tragic past, and hearing the positive reviews about her she needs a better ending, I mean come on! She dies in every route too!)**

**Illya (there might be a chance that she will be back, after hearing the explanation from "Kreyn" he or she has made a good point! So to those who want her to be a part of the harem there is a very stong chance she'll be back!)**

**Well that's all I got to say, see you in the next chapter! Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5: Alliance

"Normal Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

Meanwhile Saber is searching the school.

_"...Strange, the indication of battle has disappeared, I'm worried about Shirou it would be good if he's okay but..."_ Saber suddenly feels a pressure hit her.

"A Barrier?!, no... an Enemy?!, I can't let this happen!" Saber is soon coated in a bright light and materializes in her Armor. _"I'm on my way! Until then, please be safe, master!"_

Shirou and Rider are staring at each other, Rider is smiling, amused at Shirou.

"So you're the servant that Tohsaka was talking about..."

She smirks "Heh... and you seem to be a master, I'm still surprised you were able to find the source of the barrier."

"Why are you doing something like this?! Did you really intend to attack the students?!" Of course Shirou knew who the real culprit is.

"Naturally, a place like this, which has an abundance of humans makes it suitable for harvesting souls."

"Don't mess around! Dispell the barrier now! Stop bringing innocent lives to this war!"

She frowns slightly "You're saying something strange, a Servant gathering human souls for prana is a standard tactic for the Grail War... you could say that the people who become prey are the key to victory, if that's so than you really can't say they are unrelated, right?"

"So you just don't care do you?"

"...In any case there's no reason for me to follow your orders, I'm merely following my masters will."

She smiles "and if you truly want to stop the barrier, you'll have to defeat me first!" she charges and attempts to kick Shirou in the face, Shirou barely reacts in time and dodges, he jumps back and lifts his arms.

"Trace On!" Shirou grasps twin swords, One Light, One Dark, Ying and Yang, Husband and Wife.

**Kanshou** and **Bakuya**.

"Oh? It seems your better than I thought, but... A mere human can never hope to match a servant!" She charges again, and she seems to go even faster! Shirou blocks and parrys each hit but each hit feels like a sludgehammer.

_"Guh! Even with max reinforcement she still overpowers me?! I can't rely on my arm's power either!" _Shirou slashes at her body but all he hits is air, she jumps into the trees, mocking him, toying with him.

Her laughter seems to echo's everywhere "My I underestimated you, I'm surprised you lasted this long but playtimes over and it's time to get serious!" She throws her chains at impossible angles and they are speeding towards Shirou.

_"I only got one shot!" _Shirou throws the twin swords into the forest, and at the same time he is tangled by the chains and slams into the tree. Rider appears in front of him.

"Giving up I see? Do you see the difference in power? A human standing before me without your servant, your reckless courage is commendable." She roughly grabs his hair "It seems you're different from my master."

Shirou smirks "You should more pay attention to your surrounding."

"What!" She turns around and is faced with twin buzz saws, only due to her extreme flexibility she is able to bend backwards to dodge the swords, a few strains of hair are cut. The chains loosen enough for Shirou to bring out his arms and catch them, he takes the opportunity to slash at Rider, succeeding in giving her a cut on her arm and leg. She retreats back into the forest. _"Damn! I'm going to tire soon, and that was the only chance I got, she'll never let that happen again... unless I can convince her to stop." _Now this is possibly the dumbest thing Shirou has done in his entire life, ever.

**"Rider." **she immeditly tenses _"How did he know that?!" _

"Rider, please stop this meaningless violence, if we work together we can save Sakura!" Rider nearly falls off the branch she's on. _"Where did he hear this?! Shinji? No, that idiot's not that stupid, so how?" _

"Please Rider, I'm not going to fight you, stop this now." Shirou drops his swords and they fade into dust.

_"It has to be a trap!" _She jumps out of the trees and speeds toward him, her daggers aimed at Shirous body. He doesn't react, he doesn't defend, he doesn't even turn his head. Her daggers pierce into his body, she feels his ribs collapse with one dagger and the other slams into his side, ripping into multiple organs.

"...Why...?" She sees Shirou turn his head and smile, blood escapes his lips.

"I-I told you Rider, I'm not going to fight you." He said calmly

She is silent for a moment and removes the daggers with a swift yank, she hears him hiss in pain.

"... I will tell you this, The barrier is called "Blood Fort Andromeda", it's something that invokes the large-scale ley-lines in the earth, those ley-lines are damaged considerably so using this consecutively is impossible, when I invoked this barrier it was completely unexpected, it was also not fully released. There's at least several days required for the earth to rest before restarting it."

Shirou smiles "Thank you, Rider."

"Even after I try to kill you, you thank me?...You're a strange one, boy"

"It's Shirou."

"..." Soon enough Rider is forced to leap back when a powerful slash is sent at her.

A figure lands in front of Shirou, "Saber!"

"Shirou! Are you alright?!" She looks at her opponent, her eyes widen slightly _"It's her..."_

Shirou grins "Yeah I'll live, thanks Saber."

She looks to Shirou and nods "Master, orders!"

"Defeat her!, and destroy that forsaken barrier!"

She charges toward Rider "Understood!" The two warriors clash, Saber speeds up and slashes at Rider, Rider sends her daggers at Saber, but they are easily deflected. With each strike Rider is forced back, "Like I'll let you!" Saber flips into the air and attempts to brings her sword down on Rider with full force, creating a massive dust cloud that masks the area.

Shirou reinforces his eyes, he sees a silhouette in the trees.

"Master, stay back we're not done yet."

Rider looks on calmly "An invisible sword? You have such a clever weapon."

Saber looks coldly "And in comparison you are able to control a strange barrier... but with the way you carry yourself, you don't seem to be a Caster."

"This barrier is only one of my inherent abilities, I'd be troubled if you put me in the same category as something as poor as sorcery, my class is Rider, I rush to every battlefield riding my mount with the speed of a hurricane wind."

Saber readies her stance "Is that so? Then I will have to drag you from your horse and erase you with my sword!"

Rider smirks "You jest, as if a girl who crawls upom the earth..." She jumps into the air and throws her dagger " Is capable of that!"

Saber dodges each dagger and chain, each one that misses cracks the ground with its power _"Does she intend to do battle in mid-air?! With my feet off the ground, she hopes I will not have a stable footing to use my sword... But!"_

"Burst! Barrier of the Wind King!" She uses that as a boost to rockets at Rider "Prepare yourself Rider!" As she was about to deliver a powerful strike, a projectile hits Rider in the shoulder, moving her out of the way. _"I missed!"_

"Hm... was my timing off?" Archer said

Rin enters the forest as well, she sees how bad of a condition Shirou's in "Emiya-kun... Saber?!"

"Tohsaka?!"

"Archer?!"

_"Hm... Perhaps I've taken up a little too much time..." _Rider jumps up into a tree and Saber notices "Are you running away, Rider?!"

She disappears into the forest. Her voice seems to echo everywhere "As one would expect, I am at a disadvantage in a two vs one battle, I will take my leave of this place."

"Wait!" Saber shouted

"...Shirou, it will be a few days until the barrier is restarted... at most you may struggle." Rider said

As soon as she finishes those words, the bloody sky turns back into night.

Shirou falls to one knee and coughs blood.

"Emiya-kun!"

"Master!"

Shirou grins with bloody teeth "Don't worry about me, I'm alright."

"Stop lying Master! You have very serious wounds, that was extremely reckless of you!"

"Idiot! You could have died!"

Shirou smirks "What happened to wanting to kill me? Neh, Tohsaka? I didn't know you cared so much?"

Her face gains a tinge of pink "W-whatever! Just don't go running of on your own! Anyway about the barrier you found the source right?"

Shirou nods "Yeah." For some reason his instincts are screaming at him, he readies himself for any possible threat.

Rin develops a scary aura and she raises a fist in anger "I got tricked... the magic circle on the roof, was just a trap to stall us! It seems that she was waiting for the barrier to sap us of enough strength before finishing us in a single strike, and that servant just now..."

Shirou's immediately reinforces his body and traces a nameless sword, he blocks Archers attempt at killing him.

"What the hell do you think your doing, Archer?" Shirou glares at him

"..." His only response is his cold eyes

Saber readies her sword "Bastard!"

"Archer! What are you...?!" Rin said

Saber charges at Archer, ready to cut him down.

"Saber stop! I'll deal with him."

"Stop speaking nonsense, Master! He is a Servant, he will kill you!"

"Saber do you trust me?"

"...Yes"

"Than trust me that I can defeat this guy!"

Archer done with all the talking takes action "Tch!" He charges again

Shirou jumps back and drops the nameless sword, he then traces his twin swords, he also charges.

They clash, they both block, parry and strike almost as if they are in sync. With each strike their blades chip, crack and dent until the final strike breaks both of them at the same time.

Shirou wordlessly traces them again, the same with Archer.

Saber who can't stand on the sidelines anymore jumps in front of Shirou.

"Stand aside Saber, my business is only for that Master."Archer said

"I will not! Your opponent is me!"

"If that's so... I'll just have to go through you!" Archer charges again

"Hold it right there!" They both stop

"From now on Emiya-kun and I are now allies! So sheath those swords you two!"

"...What is the meaning of this Rin?"

She looks to Shirou "Emiya-kun you said you found the source right?"

He nods "Yeah, I said that because earlier in the school there was this sickly sweet odor in the air, so I only followed the direction it was getting stronger at."

She grins "Yes that's one of your characteristics isn't it? You're sensitive to the abnormalities in the world. Since I don't have an eye for this kind of stuff, I wasn't able to find the origin. Well something like that anyway."

She looks to Archer "Do you get it, Archer?"

"About using this guys abilities? Certainly, if the size of the barriers is like this than the generating magic circles will probably be in proportion."

Rin nods "Exactly, if we borrow his abilities then discovering those magic circles will be easy, and if my sorcery isn't enough to eliminate them, we can at least make them totally useless. Furthermore wanting to stop these horrible barriers is a goal we agreed on. That's why we are allies."

She looks to Shirou and Saber "The restart of the barrier will only be delayed for a few days, but if me and Emiya-kun can make the magic circles useless we'll gain more time. During that time we flush out Rider's Master and defeat him, any objections?"

Archer closes his eyes "...It's up to you, whatever orders you give me I will obey."

She looks back at Shirou "Well Emiya-kun, until we defeat Rider we have a truce! During that time we will share intelligence concerning our enemies, and if the time comes and an enemy appears we will team up, thats right since I was the one to propose things and not Emiya-kun I will take care of you in various ways. Of course you approve of that, right?"

"Yeah sure, that sound good." Shirou replies nonchalantly

She gains a tick-mark "What kind of response is that...? Anyway I have various preparations to do so we'll talk some more later. Let's go Archer." They walk away into the distance.

"I'm amazed that things turns out like this..." Shirou starts to sway on his feet until Saber catches him. "Shirou are you alright?" Her face etched with worry

"Ah, don't worry anymore, my injuries seemed to have healed, its just those two fights took a lot out of me. If you hadn't come along who knows what would have happened, thank you Saber."

She shakes her head "No, it's nothing. I should be the one apologizing, your directions were to stay at home and I disobeyed them. But I think this time its acceptable for the dangerous actions you were in. From now on should we stop attending school so we can focus on the Holy Grail War?"

"No, no thats not good, since I have to help Tohsaka search the school. Right now discovering who Rider's master is takes first priority. Especially since he has his eyes on our school, there has to be some clues as well. Don't worry about me Saber, if I get in trouble again, Rin will be there, so i'll rely on them."

She hums in agreement "Your right, I think I can trust Rin, but be careful of Archer he somehow has the air of staking you for some reason."

Shirou nods "Yeah, I'll be careful." Saber and Shirou slowly walk home.

Meanwhile a red knight is deep in thought _"That boy is a lot stronger, this never happened before, he was supposed to be an incompetent magus, one of the most sorry excuses for a magi I have ever seen. Yet he is able to use projection almost as good as mine... he is also able to fight Servants to a certain degree, and he seems to be hiding something... strange, strange indeed."_

"...What is it Archer? Do you still disapprove of my alliance with Emiya-kun?"

"...No..."

"I understand your feelings but, If I think stopping the barrier is our first priority, than this is the best choice."

Archer smirks "But if that master stands in our way, then well turn on him, right?"

Rin sighs "...That thing with Emiya-kun before, do you have resentment towards him or something?"

"Don't be foolish, I just thought I'd take care of an easy opponent ahead of time."

"An easy opponent, huh...? Hmm, but I don't think Saber would make that easy."

She turns to look at the city "Archer, about me I've been the head of the notable Tohsaka Magi Family for 10 years. This Fuyuki City is a land whose control has been entrusted to me by the magic association, I can't allow unknown origins nor their undiscovered lackeys to do as they please."

Archer nods "I'm determined to stop those barriers."

"This is also my decision as the head of the Tohsaka Family."

"Yeah, If your that resolved then I won't say anything." Archer said

Rin smiles "Thank you, then from now on we'll move on without delay! Oh yeah, I'll also contact Kotomine, even now he's the administrator of the war which was dispatched by the Magic Association, he carriers out his role seriously."

* * *

"...I see, Yes you did well in contacting me, I will increase surveillance and undertake proper measures." he hangs up the phone

"Hm... Rider's master, so this kind of bold action's has appeared. Has a great change finally appeared? What kind of conclusion waits us this time?" Kotomine looks out the window.

Saber and Shirou soon reach the Emiya household "I'm home!... Hmm? Sakura and Tiger didn't come today? For now I think I should make some food, I bet your hungry as well Saber." Shirou prepares dinner.

"...By the way master, the alliance with Rin will last until Rider is defeated, correct? I would like to discuss what we do afterwards."

"What do you mean?"

"It's about that Archer, he might send another sneak attack. Being allies does not change the fact that were enemies fighting for the Holy Grail."

"You may be right, but that's not Tohsaka's style, suddenly turning on her allies right after cooperating with them. But... you could still be right, if she does attack us by chance then we'll fight."

Saber nods "Yes this plan will work, but like I thought, that Archer is cunning it would be best to not talk about being at such a disadvantage."

Shirou laughs nervously "Ha ha ha... You mean Tohsaka is cunning."

Saber tilts her head slightly "But shouldn't we talk about how Rin is a trustworthy person?"

"Do you really want to talk about how she will double-cross us? Today's discussion about working together strangely felt like a threat, she's a wolf in sheep's clothing, she's a completely different from the nice and proper Tohsaka I admire."

A sliding door is opened behind him "Oh my, Emiya-kun I'm honored you see me like that!"

"To-Tohsaka?!"

She smiles "You should lock your doors when you talk about secrets."

"Wh-why are you...?"

"I'm sorry, I called but no one answered so I came on my own."

"No not that! Why are you in my house?!"

"Oh? Didn't I say earlier we'd "talk some more later"?"

"No, you did say that but what's with the luggage?"

"Didn't I say this as well "I will take care of you in various ways." So from now on I'll be indebted to you here, please take care of me Emiya-kun."

While Shirou is trying to find an answer, one glaring and dreadful problem comes up, Shirou falls to his hands and knees and a cloud of depression appears above his head "Fuji-nee's gonna kill me..." Rin giggles and Saber is confused.

"Well Emiya-kun, where should I sleep?"

"Um, there's a detached room so you could sleep there bu-" She's already gone.

"He-hey wait up!" As if by magic the room is already filled with all her equipment, notes and other things.

"..." Shirou is silent.

"We should also take turns in making meals."

"Uh, Tohsaka?"

"I haven't had dinner yet so please make me a portion as well."

Shirou sighs "Why are yo-" he's interrupted

"In the morning I'll have a variety of bread, and if I could get black tea as well that be great."

"Just wait a min-"

"And we'll have to wash clothes separately."

"Hey! Sto-"

"Afterwards don't forget to knock, okay? We'll be working together from now on, so we have to cooperate on various matters, right?"

"WHY ARE YOU LIVING IN MY HOUSE?!" A little while later they are all siting at the table drinking tea.

"Geez... It's because if we're going to constantly work together this is essential!"

"...Thats not a good reason at all!"

She sighs "Well Emiya-kun, don't you know others masters may attack? and what if it's Berserker again! I wonder if you two can win...?"

"It will be one of the hardest fights I will do, but I have no doubt I can defeat him!" Shirou said

"Yes, there is a chance of success if Shirou helps **slightly**." she looks directly at him and he laughs nervously. "I also still have a trump card." Saber said

Rin crosses her fingers "Yes, but will it make a difference against a powerful opponent? But if Archer joins the battle then the situation will improve significantly, and even if we run it'll be more convenient. You joined with us to stop the barriers, right? Wouldn't it be bad if we were defeated before we reach that goal? Furthermore when enemies move we'll be able to cooperate quickly, using the same base of operations will have the most efficiently."

Shirou's in though "Hm..."

"By the way Rin, where is Archer?"

"He's standing watch, since an archer eyes are like 'hawk's eyes' he is the best choice."

"I see, than we won't have to worry about enemy ambush." Saber said

"Tohsaka, you have any idea who Rider's Master is?" Shirou is screaming inside, he wants to tell them, he wants to stop lying.

"About that, at first I thought it was someone related to school but... there are no other magi at the school."

"You sure?" Meanwhile Saber is enjoying herself in the background

"I thought it was a possibility too but experienced magi are able to recognize other magi, I looked and besides the two of us I found no one else."

Shirou perks up at this "Wait, you knew I was a magus?"

She sighs "...I didn't know about you, I wasn't able to identify you since your a **hack**." Shirou shrinks down a little and grumbles

"Anyway there are no magi at the school, so it has to be someone outside."

"How do we get him to come out though...?" Shirou asked quietly

"Yeah... since his servant probably sets the magic circles when no one is around, if we watch the school at night we might be able to catch him in the act."

Shirou shakes his head "No I don't think that will work a clever master won't expose himself that easily, right?"

Rin shrugs "I guess, after all we have no choice but to search the area anyway. That's all we have so far..."

Shirou notices Saber is quiet "Hey, what's wrong Saber? You've been quiet for some time."

"No, it's because of your food Shirou, it is somehow more delicious than before, was this all made by Shirou?"

He nods "Ah, yeah."

"Let me try." As soon as she takes her first bite her cheeks gain a slight pink hue "...It's very good, But! You better look forward for tomorrow!"

Shirou's eyes burn with determination "Oh? You plan to do better than me? You better be ready Tohsaka! For you shall fight in a battle where you will never win!"

After everything settles down, they start up their discussion again.

Shirou starts first "So if we do find Rider's whereabouts, what kind of strength does she possess? If we can't defeat her it's meaningless."

Saber speaks up "I think Rider herself is no problem, since she doesn't have a very large combat ability."

Rin speaks next "Then it's as I thought... her Noble Phantasm will become a problem."

Saber frowns_ "Noble Phantasm..." _She remembers her dream with Rider and Shirou fighting against **her.**

"Saber, Saber, Saber!"

"Huh?"

"You okay Saber, you were frowning."

"It's nothing to worry about Master, I was just thinking of something."

Shirou doesn't look convinced but he nods

"Emiya-Kun, you do know what a Noble Phantasm is, right?"

"Some stuff, can you explain it to me?"

Rin turns to Shirou "A Noble Phantasm is a symbolic weapon that becomes their trump card as a servant. An example would be when Siegfried slayed the dragon using **Balmung**, his favorite sword. In other words, a Noble Phantasm is the mysterious item that makes a hero a hero."

Saber speaks next "Even now we possess that Noble Phantasm when summoned as a servant, and that power has no relation to a servants own strength. So when noble phantasms clash the purest strength wins, this is my reason for saying I have a chance for victory against Berserker."

Rin smirks "Being able to match the Noble Phantasm of the Greek Hero Hercules... looks like you have great confidence in your own noble phantasm, doesn't it?"

"Naturally."

"So if you were to use your Noble Phantasm your identity would be revealed?"

Rin smiles "Exactly, a Noble Phantasm and a hero are a paired existence. Once you reveal your Noble Phantasm it's like opening a book with all the answers to the enemy."

"Shirou do you remember Lancer's spear?"

"Ah, yeah his spear was named Gáe Bolg or something, right? So that was his Noble Phantasm, huh?"

"Yes the demonic lance Gáe Bolg, it is a cursed spear, that always pierces an enemy's heart. His name is-"

"Cú Chulainn, Ireland's Holy Child of The Light..."

They both stare at Shirou

"How did you know that Emiya-kun?"

Shirou rubs the back of his head "Before when I traced his Spear, I gained everything that he knew, how old the weapon is, how many times he's used it for battle and most importantly, his identity and history. Every weapon I see I instantly gain it's knowledge and I'm able to use it to almost full capability."

"So when you mean every weapon..."

"Yes every weapon my eyes see are recorded to use again and again."

Rin is fidgeting, as she wants to ask something "...Do you... Do you know who Archer is?"

Shirou couldnt tell her, he couldn't tell her he's an alternate future of Emiya Shirou who's hellbent on killing him. "Archer...Archers a strange case, you see when I also traced those swords they weren't his, he seems to have picked them up some time in his life, they have no purpose, no vanity they contain neither the desire to be famous nor the faith to accomplish great deeds. So they are empty swords with a horrible past, and besides that, I don't think those were his true Noble Phantasm's anyway."

"That's a very scary ability Emiya-kun, you call this ability "tracing", right? With your improper use of projection you somehow created a better version, an upgrade so to say, of all the people an incompetent magus like you somehow created a new magic craft."

"He he he..." Shirou scratches his cheek

"In short I'm saying this, carelessly using a Noble Phantasm is capable of exposing ones abilities to an enemy." Saber said

"I see..."

"So it's like this, even if we think Rider is weak we don't know what her Noble Phantasm is so we can't be careless." Rin said

But Tohsaka, isnt that barrier one of the abilities of Rider's Noble Phantasm?"

"Which reminds me Rin, that barrier of hers was called Blood Fort Andromeda, it's one of her abilities."

Rin nods "Thats true, however I think that ability ties in with her class, I wonder if instead that barrier is unnatural...? But I haven't heard of any Noble Phantasm called Blood Fort Andromeda, so we have no choice but to be cautious."

"Hey, Tohsaka do you think the recent events in Shinto are also Rider's actions?"

"The gas leaks? It may be a possibility but, the schools barrier swallows people whole and leaves not even the bones, while the events at Shinto left bodies... it wouldn't be hard to think its the same person. But, anyway stopping the barriers at school is our first priority, but we have no information on the enemy so we'll have to wait until they make the first move. For now Emiya-kun will help search the school for magic circles."

Shirou nods "Understood."

"Well that settles that, for now we should take a break, since nothing happened so far we should rest while we can."

Shirou is asleep with Saber and he has a dream, he is in a sea of fire, buring corpses and buildings, the screams and moans for help are heard everywhere "...This dream again? Even though I haven't seen it much lately..." He notices something on the ground and the scene warps, his eyes widen in surprise, there are bodies everywhere "...This is Rider's barrier!" He sees a unmoving boy with glasses "Issei..."

A voice is heard behind him "Shi...rou?"

"Fuji-Nee?!" Instead of his lovely sister is a melting figure on the ground her eyes are empty sockets, her face is falling off "Help me Shirou... Please... help... me..."

Shirou closes his eyes "This_ isn't real! Everyone's alright!"_

"You have failed Emiya Shirou."

Shirou turns around to see the Red Knight "Archer?!"

"You have failed and you couldn't do anything about it, if you keep this up you will fall into a spiral of despair, forever alone, do you still want to follow this path?"

Shirou looks at him with determination "Of course, even if all this happened I will have no regrets, I will never turn into you!"

Archer smirks "That's what I wanted to hear." Everything flashes white

Shirou opens his eyes to darkness _"It was a dream..."_ he slowly untangles himself from Saber and goes outside "What was with that dream?, what was it's meaning...?"

"Is something the matter, Shirou?"

"Oh! Saber your awake? I was just wondering what's happening now."

"Rin and Archer left earlier, it seems there is trouble in the city again."

"Okay...I'm annoyed Saber, I'm annoyed there are people suffering before my eyes and I can do nothing but watch."

"..."

Meanwhile Rin and Archer are searching this city and have stumbled upon a mass of bodies. "What do you think, Archer?" Rin said

"This is not Rider's work, the barrier's style is completely different."

Rin nods "Yes, I agree this is without a doubt the work of another master. We'll have an opportunity soon, let's go Archer."

"Yeah but before that..." He swings his sword to fast for the moth to evade.

Rin gasps "A familiar?!"

Archer nods "Yeah, a rat somehow slipped in."

"...We'll talk more about this later for now let's leave this place. I can't stomach this."

**Authors Notes:**

**Sorry for the long dialogue but this sets everything up for the next scene! Also this may upset some of you but I might not do the awesome fight scene between Archer an Shirou, the way I'm playing this story out will not fit... Another thing is, I know some of you don't like having Caster with Shirou and I completely understand, I know that she loves Kuzuki and he loves her so she'll be heartbroken for a while... I'm trying to make her warm up to Shirou and for him to fill the holes in her heart. Well im just glad all you people are here giving your reviews and help so thanks! See you in the next chapter! Bye!**


	6. Chapter 6: A New Servant

"Normal Talking"

_"__Thoughts"_

It's morning and Shirou is cooking breakfast. "Hmm... should I add another dish? Well breakfast is the days source of energy. That reminds me, Saber really likes to eat, even though Japanese style food, has to be unusual for her." He smiles "That gives me a good reason to cook." A door is opens behind him.

"Morning, Shirou!"

"Good morning, Fuji-nee." he may be smiling but inside he's freaking out _"Oh crap! How could I forget about Fuji-nee! She'll kill me when she finds out about Rin!"_

"Oh? Where's Sakura?"

"Sakura's here?" Shirou's confused

She scratches her cheek "But I thought I saw her shoes at the entrance? Then I wonder if it's my imagination."

Shirou immmediatly pales "Uwah!" he runs to Rins room "Tohsaka!"

"Leave me alone... I was out late yesterday so I'm going to sleep until the last moment." She mumbles

_"If Fuji-nee and Sakura find out she's here...!" _He hears the door opening, he runs as fast as he can.

"Good morn-" Sakura sees Shirou is on the ground

"Umm... Senpai? What are you doing?"

"Ah... I'm just doing some cleaning." He's shoving the shoes under the cabinet

Everyone finishes breakfast "Thank you for the meal! I'll be leaving now!" Fuji-nee said

"Take care! I should probably clean up now."

Sakura stand up "Ah, I'll help too."

"It's okay Sakura, I can handle it."

She shakes her head "No Senpai let me do this much, since I didn't visit last night."

"In that case, please help me out."

She smiles "Okay."

Saber enters "Good morning, Shirou, Sakura."

"Ah! Good morning, Saber!"

Good morning, Saber-san."

"I prepared some breakfast for you too Saber, so please enjoy it. We'll be going now!"

"Be careful, Shirou." Saber said

After everything is finished they walk to school "Man, it's been a while since I've walked with you."

"It has, it's because I always have morning practice..."

"Sakura!" A voice said, Shirou tenses up

She turns to see Shinji ready to slap her, she closes her eyes waiting for the strike

"What are you doing, Emiya?" His voice laced with pain

She sees Shirou is holding onto his arm "Enough, Shinji."

Shinji tries to jerk his arm out of his grip, without success he then turns back to Sakura "Why didn't you come to morning practice?! I took great lengths to show up but you embarrass me! Are you attempting to sabotage your brot-" Shirous grip tightens to where Shinji hisses in pain "She was with me Shinji, if it was anyone's fault it's mine."

Shinji glares at Shirou "This is our problem back off, Emiya. Sakura didn't I say it yesterday? Don't go near that guys house."

Her eyes gain a blank look "But Nii-san Senpai's family is dead, so it's difficult on his own..."

"Oh? Your talking back to me?" Shinji's arm relaxes so Shirou releases him

Shinji smirks "Your wrong Sakura, he's a guy who likes to do everything on his own, he even retired quickly from the Archery Club, he didn't even appear concerned for us at all."

"But Nii-san forced him to do that..." Her comment falls to deaf ears

Shinji continues "I bet even the majority of our cub was relieved to see him go! After all, this guy likes being alone!" He makes sure to yell this out so everyone can hear.

"..." Shirou doesn't say a word

"...So cruel, that's going to far, Nii-san..."

"Anyway, it would be good if you listened to me, stop going to this guy's house, got it?"

"...No, I will not even if Nii-san says so, I will not listen!" She said

"What?!" He growls "You!" He raises his fist to hit her, Shirou also readies himself to defend her, Sakura closes her eyes waiting for the hit but like before nothing happens.

A hand is holding his arm "It's too early for this and your noisy... and your being a nuisance right in the middle of the street." Rin said

"Tohsaka..." Shirou said

"What, Tohsaka were just discussing club matters."

She crosses her arms "Then let me say this, I heard that participating in the Archery Club's morning practice is an individuals choice, is it really your choice to interfier with what Sakura does?"

"I'm Sakura's older brother." Shirou almost snorts at that "Is it wrong for a brother to correct his sisters mistakes?"

"Then your barking up the wrong tree, since she's not doing anything wrong. Futhermore, she's at the age where she can make her own decisions and be responsible for her own actions. Your just using your position as her older brother to satisfy your own selfish desire for control."

Shinji sneers "Thats a little extreme Tohsaka...!" He turns to Sakura "Hey, Sakura! Since Tohsake is standing up for you, I'll forgive you today!" He turns to walk, but Shirou is right in front of him.

"Shinji, if I ever see you try to harm her again, **it will be the last thing you'll ever do.**"

Shinji pales slightly "...Hmph, I didn't ask for your input, if you go too far and get hurt it's not my fault." He shoves Shirou and walks away.

Rin frowns "Seriously, that guy..."

"Thank you Tohsaka-senpai, Emiya-senpai." Sakura said quietly

"Don't worry about it! I'll make sure he never hurts you again just tell me if something happens again, Sakura." Shirou said

"No problem, since I was also a little upset just after waking up, I wonder if I said too much, I should probably have some respect for him in public."

"Very well, Senpai I'll be going." She leaves

"I have things to do as well, see ya, Emiya-kun." As she passes Shirou she whispers "The rooftop during lunch, okay?" She leaves too

Shirou sighs tiredly, suddenly a hand pats his back "Yo, thank you for that."

"Mitsuzuri! You were watching, why didnt you help?"

She shrugs "Its fine since Tohsaka was there to help, and besides when is it my job to protect the people outside the dojo?"

"..."

"Anyway, Matou has been really irritable lately, hasn't he? I saw him picking on some first-years this morning... we got control of the situation but it was still unsettling."

"Hmm... well see you later Mitsuzuti, tell everyone I said Hi."

It's soon lunch time and Shirou is headed to the roof "Phew... I took longer than expected, I think she said we'll meet on the roof?"

Rin is standing there with an annoyed face and is slightly shivering "Your late Emiya-kun!" She runs right up to his face "What's the big idea, making a girl wait in the cold?!"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry about that, here take this." He hand his school jacket to her.

"...Thank you..." When she put's it on the warmth of the jacket spreads across her body, the warmth that came from Shirou, she shakes her head with a red face _"What's wrong with me?! Thinking about stuff_ like_ that!" _

"Hey Tohsaka, you okay? Your face is all red." He touches her forehead "You seem okay..."

"F-fine, I'm fine!" She jerks away from his touch, she feels a tingly feeling on her forehead.

"Well sorry about that Tohsaka, do you want this drink I bough you?"

"My, aren't you unexpectedly thoughtful... well come on! We're not standing to talk, so lets sit."

They sit down to discuss what happened "Umm, Tohsaka? Your sitting a little too close..."

Her face reddens "It's not like I want to... the wind is cold and if we share body heat we'll stay warmer."

"...I guess so."

"Anyway I went to check out Shinto last night, you want to hear about it, right?"

Shirou nods "Yeah, so what happened?"

"What we found last night wasn't Rider's work, the magic used was something completely different." Rin said

"So that means..."

"There were no clues indicating Rider, so we have no choice but to search steadily while we destroy the magic circles around the school as according to plan. You should also watch out for suspicious people."

"Yeah, I know... having said that, since there at no masters at the school there's little hope."

"By the way Tohsaka, I was surprised this morning, surprised that your acquainted with Sakura?"

"Well... only a little, and you look like really close friends."

"It's because she was a Kouhai in the same club as me, and various things happened and now I'm indebted to her now, and the reality is that Sakura and Fuji-nee... er, Fujimura-sensei always eat at my house, I think it'll be impossible for you to hide."

"I didn't hear about that, what about Saber?"

"...That was a complete disaster. When I introduced Saber, Tiger freaked out. A lot. She attempted to hit me multiple times, and only through sheer luck I got out of that, I really don't want that to happen again, so when the time comes you have to help me out."

"Hmm... we'll deal with that later, for now let's settle the matter at hand." Rin said

"Yeah... then I'll work hard in finding the magic circles." They get up to go inside

"See ya, Tohsaka."

"Yeah later, Emiya-kun."

While Shirou is walking down the hallway Issei notices him "Hey Emiya! Where were you, and where's your jacket?"

"I was on the roof with Tohsaka and I gave her my... jacket..." Only after Shirou finished he realized his mistake.

Issei looks horrified "What?! Why would you be with that She-Devil?! Come! We have to cleanse you before its too late!" He drags him off before Shirou can complain.

Meanwhile Rin is having similar problems, Mitsuzuri sees Rin "Hey Tohsaka! Where were you, and who's jacket is that?"

"Hello Mitsuzuri, if you must know I was on the roof and it was cold so Emiya-kun offered it to... me..." She also realized her mistake.

Mitsuzuri eyes go wide for moment and then she grins "Oh? So you were alone with Emiya? What were you guys doing for him to give you his jacket? Hehehe... care to share?"

Rins face glows red "Noth-nothing happened! We just talked!"

"That blush ruins that claim! I can't wait to tell the others!" She giggles while she's running away.

"He-hey come back here! You better not say anything!"

* * *

Shirou is wandering around and soon reaches the Dojo he closes his eyes and sniffs the air _"...I can't feel anything around here, that reminds me the source if the barrier was behind the school in the woods."_

"Senpai!" He turns around to see a smiling Sakura

"Do you have business at the Dojo?"

"No I'm just passing through."

"Well if it's okay would you like to drop in? I would love to see Senpai's shooting."

Shirou has an apologetic look "Sorry, I'm a little busy right now, maybe next time."

"I see..."

"Sorry."

"No, it's okay Senpai."

"Is it okay for you to be here with me? Won't Shinji get angry?"

Sakura shakes her head "Nii-San had some things to do today so he's not here."

Shirou snorts "Well isn't that the same..."

"Um Senpai, I'm sorry about this morning, please don't think bad of Nii-san, okay?"

"...Did something happen?"

"No it's just that Senpai is Nii-san's only friend... even at home he talks about you a lot."

"Is that so...? Well I'm stuck with him, so I'll try to get along."

She smiles "Please do."

Shirou leaves "Do your best at practice!" She waves and goes back into the dojo.

Shirous cheerful smile turns serious "Now then..." he suddenly feels a presence above him, but it's too late and Shirou feels a sharp pain hit his neck.

"Gah!" He falls to one knee but doesn't go unconscious.

"Hmm... It seems your more resilient than I thought..." A voice said

"Ri-Rider?" He sees the purple haired beauty staring at his fallen form, she gets ready to strike again, Shirou reacts this time and moves out of the way.

"What are you doing, Rider?!" She responds by sending a kick toward him, he blocks the hit, but the force slides him across the ground.

"Rider, Stop! Don't make me get serious!" Shirou raises his hands to prepare for anything. Rider pauses, and does something very unusual, she giggles. It was a very strange thing to hear from her.

"You amuse me boy... if you must know my master wants to meet you."

Shirou crosses his arms "I thought I told you my name is Shirou... But you master, huh...? Fine let's go." They soon reach the Archery Club House.

"Wait here... Shirou, he will be here soon."

"Wait, Rider." She pauses and looks back

"Why do you follow your Master's orders? I know you don't like him so why?"

"...I must follow his orders no matter what, even if I don't want to."

"Did he use a command seal?"

"...Something like that..." She leaves with that cryptic message.

Shirou already knew who it was so he waited, he closes his eyes and meditates. A little while later the door opens.

"Yo, Emiya! Sorry about being so rough!"

"Shinji..." He sees that overconfident smile on his face

"...What's the meaning of this, Shinji?"

He smirks "It's how it looks, I'm a master like you."

"..." Shirou is silent

Shinji takes that silence as a way to continue "It's not unreasonable for you to be surprised, I'm amazed too. As a friend from long ago, I can trust you so I have something to ask you."

He sits down in one of the decorated chairs "How about it Emiya, will you join me?"

Before Shirou could answer Shinji gets up and punches Rider

"!" Shirou gets up, now a servant can never get hurt by someone as weak as Shinji, but it still angers him.

"Seriously, if you think about starting the barrier make sure Emiya isn't in danger."

"...I have no excuses, Master." She said

"So that's it, Emiya everything up until now has been her acting on her own, it was never my plan to make you an enemy. Were the same Emiya, shanghaied into a war we have no interest in, so it wouldn't be unnatural for us to join together. If we joined together not even Tohsaka could win. How's that? Not a bad plan?" He puts his hand on Shirou's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Shinji, but I have to say no, if it makes you feel any better I'll try to stay out of your way, okay?" Shinji's smile goes away for a second but returns.

"It's not the answer I wanted but it's better than nothing, remember Emiya if you ever change your answer you know where to find me."

Shirou nods and prepares to leaves "Shinji, if I find out your lying and your the one who purposely put up the barrier..." He let that hang

"Dont worry Emiya, I'll make sure Rider doesn't do anything."

As Shirou is leaving he encounters Rider at the door "He's such a horrible liar, I'm sorry you have to deal with him, Rider... have you considered my offer?"

"...I can't, I'm forced to follow him for now until he dies or I die."

Shirou puts his hand on her shoulder "I'll save you from him, Rider." he leaves into the cold air.

A smile appears on her face "...You are a very strange one... Shirou." As soon as she returns she is yelled at by Shinji "You idiot! This is all your fault!" Her smile fades completely as she is forced to endure this idiot.

Shirou enters his house "I'm home!" He hears hurried footsteps, and turns to see a very angry, apron wearing Rin.

"Where have you been, Emiya-kun?!"

"I wa-"

"Never mind, we'll talk later, hurry up and come in."

"Umm...? What's with that get-up?"

She looks down to the apron "Isn't this yours? I found it in the kitchen so I borrowed it. Didn't I also say we would take turns cooking meals?"

"Welcome back, Shirou!" Fuji-nee said he sees Sakura and Saber there as well.

"Where were you, Shirou?" Saber said her cold stare unnerving him.

"Tohsaka-san's cooking is amazing! She's probably as good as you if not better! You should hurry and eat some!"

"E-eh?" Shirou looks back and forth between Rin, Fuji-nee and Saber.

"I'll explain later, also what did you tell them Tohsaka?"

"Ah that, Shirou? She told us there would be no mistake."

"Eh...?"

"Hm? Tohsaka-san's house is under renovation so you let her borrow the detatched room, right?" She puts her hand on her cheek.

"Uh... Yeah! Thats right! Don't worry..." He laughs nervously, he turns his head to. very ridiculous scene.

Rin seems to glow with innocence and purity "I am truly grateful for Emiya-kun's compassion for a school mate, thanks to him I no longer need to waste money living in a hotel."

Shirou's glowing with disbelieve and uncertainty _"Are you kidding me...?"_

Fuji-nee readily agrees with everything "Yeah, Yeah! because one of Shirou's good points is he never turns a person in need away, but you will take care of her, right Shirou?" She glares at him

Shirou sighs "Yeah, yeah I know..." He takes his first bite, and his eyes open in surprise.

"How is it, Emiya-kun? Does it suit your tastes?" She has a smug smile

"So this is what you meant yesterday... Oh! By the way, Saber how do you like it?"

"It's very good... But I still prefer Shirou's cooking."

Shirou smiles "I'm glad."

Rin straightes "Even if you have such pride in cooking Emiya-kun, I have a reputation to hold."

"Your such a perfect woman..." He said sarcastically

He sees Sakura is looking sadly down at her plate "But, I think Sakura will surpass me in cooking soon, so wait for her food as well!"

"U-um Senpai... I don't think I'm as good as you..." She shrinks down in her seat, embarrassed.

"Nonsense! That stew you made before was perfect! Even I couldn't do that!"

"Th-thank you, Senpai..." She has a blush on her face but she's smiling

Sakura and Fuji-nee soon leave and Shirou, Saber and Rin are alone

"I'm going to use the bath now, so don't bother me."

"Yeah."

"Please wait, Rin what do you plan to do for tonight's operation?"

"I intend to go to Shinto again, I might find some clues about yesterday's suspect. Fuyuki City is a land under Tohsaka control, I won't let anyone do as they please."

"I see... then I'll go as well!"

Rin tilts her head in confusion "That won't be necessary, this is completly unrelated to Rider so its my problem."

Shirou shakes his head "That's not exactly true to me, masters who attack people indiscrimitly are unforgivable, and didnt you say that we would always operate together? And the more importantly I have something to tell you." Shirou, Saber and Rin are patrolling the city, and he tells them about how Rider attempted to knock him out, how Shinji offered and alliance but the thing that Rin reacted the most to was telling them he's a master.

"What! Shinji's a master?! This can't be...! There can't be another master at school!"

"But Tohsaka you were unable to detect my sorcery, right? Then..."

"No this is different, completely different, first of all Shinji shouldn't even be a magus. Here, let me explain, originally they were a foreign family of magi, called the Makiri but when they came to japan they later changed it to Matou, the japanese land didn't agree with them, and considerably weakened their magus blood, soon enough the magic circuits that were part of their magus bloodline died off with Shinji's father's generation. In other words, the Matou family lineage has already faded away, so for Shinji to be a master makes no sense..." She seems frustrated

"But Rin, we must accept that if Rider follows his orders." Saber said

"...Right, I know so what did you say to him after he told his story?"

"I rejected his invitation of course, since I'm allied with you."

"I see, now is the time to defeat Rider!" Saber readies herself

"No not yet Saber, I want to avoid unnecessary battles, once he makes the first move then we'll attack." Saber hesitates then nods at his decision.

"So does this mean our alliance is at an end?" Saber said

"Of course not! I just want to see how this goes. I'm sorry but I can't put faith in Shinji's words, even if he's harmless right now, finding out a masters identity makes them easier to deal with, so we'll leave him alone for now."

"I see, but I think we should still take out the roots of evil while we can..."

"Dont worry Saber, we'll get that chance soon enough. Anyway, Tohsaka you said that the Matou were a line of magi, right? So Sakura..."

"Heh, your worried about her aren't you? Don't worry she's unrelated to the Holy Grail War." He smiles a fake smile _"If only she knew..."_

They soon walk in a comfortable silence and Shirou is having the feeling of someone watching them. The figure smiles and raises her hand.

"!" Shirou spins around at the same time everyone else reacts "Shirou, An enemy!"

Archer appears behind them "Did you feel that Rin?"

"Yes, this is the same feeling as before. Let's go Emiya-kun!" She starts to run off

"Wait! Tohsaka, isn't that's the wrong direction? I'm sensing something in that direction."

"Archer, do you feel anything?"

"No, a little while ago there was a magic reaction in the heart of the city."

"I also do not think Shirou can distinguish between abnormalities..." Saber said

"...But we shouldn't ignore Emiya-kun's ability for sensing abnormalities... we should split up."

As Shirou is running "Remember Emiya-kun! if the enemy is too strong you run!"

He uses reinforcment and pumps his legs to get there faster.

"Shirou, what is this way?!"

"I don't know! But something seems familiar... and something old and putrid is there as well..."

They arrive at large barren area of land "Shirou where are we?"

"Long ago there was a great fire here... this park is made from those ruins."

Shirou senses a presence behind him "Watch out, Shirou!" She appears next to him in a flash and slashes a humanoid skeleton "Please be careful!"

"Trace On!" He grasps his twin swords readying himself for the skeletal army before him.

"We're surrounded!" They both go back to back slashing, blocking and destroying as many as they can. Suddenly Shirou feels a large magical buildup and jumps in front of Saber and he traces as many swords as he can and creates a barrier, a large explosion is soon created.

"Shirou!" As soon as the smoke clears she sees he's alright, he just has a couple of cuts and he is slightly singed in places.

"I'm alright, but something was off about that magic, it felt... old, no ancient."

"Are you Sabers master, boy?"

"A new Servant?!" He turns to see a cloaked figure _"Who is she?" _She appears to be in a large robe like cloth that covers her body completely, she is wearing a very simple robe which is black and purple with gold trimming. It also appears to have a metal ring with a ruby attached holding a part of the robe together.

"Are you really her Master, you have such weak reserves, yet you seem to be hiding something..." Shirou tenses ever so slightly.

"I feel sorry for Saber if she was summoned by me, then this wouldn't have happened."

"Be silent, Caster!" Saber growls

"Though, I'm quite amazed that your master got out of that with minimal injury... his magical resistance is pitiful. So it's more surprising the more I think about it."

She smiles "What an interesting fight, certainly worth the wait."

"You separated us from Rin, which also means to divide our powers... to me however, these are all useless tactics! You can't win against me, Caster!" She charges and attempts to cut her down, but all she hits is an illusion.

"How about this, Saber!" She chants a few words and launches a magical blast at Saber, she is consumed in the blast but soon brushes off the attack like nothing "Quite amazing... You certainly have a strong force against anti-magic." She then gets her army to attack again.

"Even if my magic won't effect you... It will still hurt you master!" She sends another magical blast

"Shirou!" She defends with her sword

"This kids your weakness, Saber." She then sends a barrage of crescent shaped energy blasts, Saber blocks most but one hits Shirou in the arm.

"Are you alright, Shirou!"

"Don't worry about it! Focus on Caster!" Saber is forced to fight the skeletons and defend Shirou.

"Saber! If we defeat Caster these things will go away, right? Do you have any ideas?" Shirou had many ways to defeat her but using them this early on will only raise many, many questions.

"Yes, I have one but..."

"What, is it? Tell me..."

"If I use my Noble Phantasm and I activate it, everything including Caster will all disappear."

"Everything? No, Saber we can't do that, it'll be too much."

"But Shirou if we keep this up..."

"Yeah, I know because of me, you can't do as much, so I'll protect myself and give you enough time to defeat her!"

"Are you crazy?! There are too many for you to handle!"

"Go, Saber. I don't care about my life anymore, I've already made up my mind to protect the innocent from people like them! We'll have to get out of here without using your Noble Phantasm, NOW GO!"

"...Be careful Shirou! Please last for 30 seconds!" She charges at Caster, destroying everything in her path.

Shirou is slowly surrounded and everything seems to slow down, but besides the horde before him, he smirks "30 seconds, huh...? That's more than enough time to destroy them!" He charges and swings his blades destroying each one in an instant, but with each one destroyed two took its place, it was like fighting a hydra. Shirou was starting to get slowly pushes back and with each swing of his swords the enemy's were getting closer, one got close enough to slash his arm "Tch!" He is starting to get injured, he throws his swords and traces more and more until the air is filled with them, he throws, slices and catches each blade annihilating the army. But it's still not enough, the traced swords soon break and the skeletal soldiers advance toward Shirou, they are soon upon him and are delivering more and more damage. "I guess it's time..." Shirou closes his eyes and releases the 'shroud' he is once again filled with pain, but he is able to push the demons back, they attempt to slash at Shirou but the swords that rip out of his body protect him. _"Hurry Saber! I can't keep this up much longer!" _Shirou doesn't notice a couple skeletons sneak up on him and skewer his body.

Saber is fighting Caster but is hitting nothing but air "Hmm... perhaps I misjudged your master, using projection to such a high degree... and having that sudden power boost as well... heh, he's more interesting than I thought." Saber gets behind her and slashes at her body.

"Hmph, no matter what you do, it will not work." She notices something behind Saber

"Hehe, good job boys, for distracting her... Remember Saber, I am one step closer to winning the Holy Grail!" She dissolves into the air

"It was... a fake?! Damn it! She turns "Shirou!" her eyes widen when she sees him, he has multiple gashes, and swords are sprouting all over his body again but the most damage seems to be the bone like swords that's in his stomach and chest.

"I-I'm alright..." he drops to his knees and vomits blood

"Shirou!" She helps him up and notices his wounds can't heal with the swords in his body "Shirou, this is going to hurt..." She grabs the one in his gut and gives one swift yank, Shirou grunts in pain.

"One more, Shirou hang on..." She attemps to pull it out but it's stuck, she could use more strength but she would hurt him. "It seems to be stuck between your ribs... Shirou we need Rin's help!"

"No... I can handle it." He grabs the one in his chest and pulls as hard as he can, you could hear his ribs break, Shirou nearly yells out in pain, he has to cough out some blood to speak.

"Le-let's go home, Saber." She supports him for their slow walk home

* * *

"So the Caster that was controlling the soldiers was a fake..." She puts bandages on Shirou

"Rin, what happened to the area you checked on?"

"Same as yesterday, a karaoke place was attacked. Oh well." She tightens the bandages on him

"Ow! Tohsaka, that hurts!" She gives him a disapproving stare and slaps his back.

"Ow! Why?!" He glares at her

"If you're a man stop complaining!" She looks at his body and is still amazed "You have such a weird body Emiya-kun, you're already almost healed... I didn't have to use any of my healing techniques."

"So what should we do now Tohsaka?"

"Well, now since the enemy has made their move, we can't just do nothing. Right now Archer is following the magic trace. Hopefully we'll be able to find where she resides."

_"Rin..."_ She puts her hand up to her ear "How's it going, Archer?"

The scene goes to Archer "I lost it, the magic trace left behind must have been a trap set by Caster, lots of mammoth soldiers suddenly attacked me. Yet, I can still feel a slight trail... If I keep following it, then maybe..."

It goes back to Shirou, Saber and Rin "So that's what it is!" Rin said

"What is it, Rin?" Saber said

"I've always suspected, in both cases we did not see Caster there at all. In this case, how do you think Caster managed to take all the souls that she sucked up?"

"Could it have something to do with the magical exchange?" Shirou asked

"No, even if she were to do that, the mana needed would be way too inefficient..."

"So that means..." Saber mumbles

"There's only one place where currently a lot of people gather..."

"So it's the Temple outside in the forests... that's where Caster most likely is, right?" Shirou said

Saber prepares herself "Now that we know Caster's whereabouts, theres no reason to let her do as she pleases. Let's go and defeat her now!"

"No wait! We don't have enough info right now. Even if we know who she is we don't know her capabilities, besides we don't know what her noble phantasm is either and no deaths have occurred yet so let's wait a bit."

"Then I guess it's just the two of us, Shirou."

"No... Sorry, Saber."

"What?! But, Shirou!"

"I agree with Rin on this, I don't think we'll gain anything if we attack now, if were too anxious we could die besides, we still have Rider to deal with so we have to sit and wait for now."

"..." Saber wants to protest but stops herself

Everyone is back at the Emiya household and it's the dead of night, Saber waits until everyone is asleep and silently removes herself from Shirou, she sees him frown slightly so she caresses his cheek softly, a small smile appears on his face and he settles down. _"I... I am a Servant who disobey's my masters orders, but..." _She remembers Shirou facing down the army "_I don't care about my life anymore, I've already made up my mind to protect the innocent from people like them!" _She looks to the sky _"Shirou, you won't live long if you think like that..." _She activates her armor "I'll just have to bring victory by myself! I'll defeat Caster for my master who can't fight for himself!" She dissapears into the night.

Meanwhile Shirou is having a recurring dream "As for me Shirou, I always wanted to be a man of justice." Kiritsugu said

The younger Shirou speaks "What are you talking about? You're a man of justice already, besides you saved me after all." He smiles

"Ha ha ha, even then there are limitations to being a man of justice. Like when you become an adult, it's something very hard to do."

He closes his eyes "So I've already..." Shirou wakes up to darkness "Saber...?" He sees the empty space where she should be laying "Damn! Did she go to Caster?!" He gets up _"I have to make it...!"_ he releases the 'shroud' slightly and uses its power to boost his reinforcment far beyond his maximum _"Please be safe, Saber!"_

Saber is in front of the temple steps, another figure is watching from the woods _"Saber... Just as I thought, she came. Probably to challenge Caster, it'll be good if she defeats her, and will be better if she falls with Caster, but..." _He reaches his hand and a magic barrier fizzes against his skin. " A barrier... probably set by Caster or it's the temple itself, I'm not sure... It seems like I'll have to go through the front."

Saber is speeding up the stairs at an alarming rate _"Of course, there would be a barrier that blocks enemies. But whatever it is I'll defeat it!" _She almost reaches the top until a figure is seen "Is that a Servant headed my way?" Saber halts her movement.

"Who are you!" He slowly gets up

"I'm someone who's been named to guard the entrance to this place. If you turn around now, I'll let you go but if you insist on going in you have to get past me!"

His shadowed appearence is revealed, he is a tall man with kimono that has a mix of blue, dark and light purple with gold trimmings, he has long dark blue hair, held together with a purple string, on his back he has a very long sword as well.

"Servant Assassin, Sasaki Kojiro!" He said

"Assassin?!" She ready her sword _"Why is another Servant here? That name sounds Japanese... A Servant who revealed his true identity, impossible! But since he's revealed his identity, as a knight I also must..."_

"Hello, Kojiro my true name is-"

"No need for that." He interrupts

"There's no need for you to tell me your identity, I just do that as a part of my courtesy. We'll talk with our swords."

Saber is surprised "Assassin you, already know I'm a swordsman?"

He smirks "Even if I can't see your sword, I can feel the sense of battle within it."

Assassin draws his katana "Let us fight now Saber, the strongest servant with a sword."

Saber charges "Very well, I accept your challenge!"

At the same time Shirou is still running toward the temple "Damn it, I need to go faster!" He releases the 'shroud' even more to pump his legs with the foreign prana _"Going by herself, what is she thinking! I never heard of this Caster during my war... you better be alright, Saber!"_

Saber and Assassin clash, Saber is forced to jump back _"He's hard to fight against... Especially with that abnormal sword of his...such a long sword should be easy to defeat, but... I can't even get close!"  
_

Archer is also observing the new servant _"So Sasaki Kojiro is his name huh...? Using that 5 foot long sword and a Chujo-ryu fighting style... It's not surprising he can fight Saber at the same level. In that case his sword should be his noble phantasm."_

Saber is having similar thoughts _"Just what is going on? I can't sense any magic or spirit sense coming from that sword, is that thing not his noble phantasm?_

He relaxes his stance "Hmm, your much more of a challenge than I thought, but..."

_"He let his guard down?!" _Saber speeds toward him "Are you underestimating me, Kojiro?!" At the last possible second he leans back, dodging the sword by mere inches.

"What!" Saber said

He puts his sword on his shoulder "Alright, I know all about you sword now, I'd say about 1 meter long and 4 inches thick. Hmph, certainly a sword that fits your name, Saber."

"How did-" She waits for the next move "_How did he figure out my sword in such a short amount of time?" _

"So Saber, there's nothing to be afraid of now. Stop hiding the true face of your sword."

"...What do you mean?"

He points his sword at Saber "Your blade... It's still in its sheath isn't it? Or do you think that is good enough for me?"

_"Did he see through my wind barrier too?!" _She stays silent

"Still won't let me see it? Well then... I guess I have to show you mine." The wind picks up around him.

_"His power just increased, is he planning to use his phantasm?" _

Kojiro brings his sword to his side and raises it slowly into the air, he then gets into a two handed stance with his back turned from Saber.

Prepare yourself Saber, or else you will die..."

**"Tsubame...!"** He brings down his sword.

**"GAESHI!"** Two simultaneous strikes approach Saber.

_"Unavoidable?!... No, there!" _She is able to jumps away but she rolls down the steps _"What was that?! If I didn't dodge I would have died!"_

"Hmm, even though I would like to say you dodges that pretty well, Saber I didn't have the correct footing so I was only able to get two shots off." He moves to a new spot "There this is a perfect spot. You still won't release your Noble Phantasm? You better do it soon because with the next shot, you won't be able to dodge, so pull out your sword, Saber!" He said

_"What move was that? I had no choice but to dodge..." _She notices her arm guard slowly starts to crack until it shatters into multiple pieces, her arm is also bloody and cut up.

"Argh!" She clenches her bloody fist _"What do I do...?"_

Archer is still observing_ "So that's Tsubame Gaeshi, eh? He attacked from the top side of Saber, no... that technique has two consecutive arching blades that close in on the enemy from all sides to create a prison, allowing no chance for defense or evasion. Saber only dodged because it was incomplete and she still got injured...he's able to bend space and time to create those slashes, he made something impossible, possible! Something like that shouldn't exist! Yet up until now, I could not sense any phantasm coming from his sword. He's a servant that can match Saber without using his Noble Phantasm at all!"_

Assassin looks on with disinterest "What? You look surprised, you know I found this out by accident. I was trying to cut down a swallow and by the time I did, I developed this skill."

"How is this possible? To be able to slash more than one time. Very few could do this, in fact, it's impossible, but if what I dodged really happened..." Saber asks

"That's right, Tsubame Gaeshi actually has three slices, but due to the position I was in I could only achieve two." He gets back into his stance.

"Before you were able to dodge it. But now, I have enough room, you can taste the real Tsubame Gaeshi, what will you do now eh, SABER?!"

_"His Noble Phantasm is undodgeable. There is no next time so I have to attack before he does. Normal attacks won't work, I have to beat him in an instant or else he will still hit me, that means I have to make this move!"_

Saber lifts her sword "All right then, I'll do as you wish! I'll use my Noble Phantasm to beat your sword! Release, Wind Barrier!" The wind all around picks up, its so strong the entire forest is shaking from the power.

"Hmm, as swift as the wind." He looks around _"But this isn't her full power..."_

Shirou reaches the steps and is nearly pushed off his feet "This feeling... No! She can't use that...!" He sees Saber is fighting someone he doesn't recognize _"Another Servant?!" _He runs up the steps "Saber!"

_"Uhh... My Phantasm will waste a lot of mana... but I can't retreat now, I need to beat him in order to advance. I need to use my power to beat him!" _She raises her sword "Here I come, Kojiro!" She is about to strike.

He sees something in the corner of his eye "Wait a moment, Saber." He silently pulls out a dagger and throws it at Archer, he immediately disappears.

"What's going on!"

He sheathes his sword "We better stop for now, someone is trying to peek at you noble phantasm, Saber. Jeez, that outsider just killed my mood to fight."

"Wait, Assassin! We still don't know who the winner is yet!"

"I originally wanted this fight to be between only us a fight to the death, besides someone is here for you... Oh? Wait, it seems I still have a fight." He redraws his sword.

Shirou is speeding in "Saber!" He traces his swords and leaps over her and brings his swords down on Assassin, he only smirks.

"Who are you?!" The man only keeps that small smile. They clash and with each hit small shock waves form, but Shirou is easily outmatched, even with his reinforced strength, Assassin is more skilled.

"Servant Assassin, Boy." Shirou only glares until he sees his sword.

"So, Sasaki Kojiro that's your name..."

Assassins eyes widen "How did you..."

Shirou jumps back and drops his swords "Trace On." He closes his eyes and a weight falls into his hand, he opens his eyes and Assassin's sword is with Shirou.

"When I copied your sword, I was able to see your history, but most importantly I can utilize you ability as well!" Shirou slowly brings his sword up an gets into a two handed stance with his back to Assassin. Shirou fully releases the 'shroud'.

He smiles "Interesting!" Assassin goes into the stance as well.

"Tsubame..." Assassin said

"Tsubame...!" Shirou yells

**"GAESHI!" **They both roar at the same time.

They both clash and each hit is simultaneously struck, but since Shirou is only human he's only able to achieve two, while Assassin finishes all three.

"Guh!" Shirou is forced back when his chest is slashed, only due to the full release of the 'shroud' and sword-like armor coming out of his body prevents a fatal strike. He gets up and prepares to fight again.

"Heh... Not a bad master there, Saber. Take a rest for tonight, we'll finish our fight next time." He slowly walks up to the temple _"Heh, interesting boy, interesting indeed..."_

He turns around "Saber are you alright?" He sees her bloody hand.

"Shirou! What are you doing here! Your injured!" She attempts to scold him more but with her first step she falls into Shirou's arms.

"Hey, hey! Saber? Saber!"

**Authors Notes:**

**Sorry it took so long for this chapter, I have no excuses, I'm just a slow writer. Anyway some of you still don't agree with Caster, but I want her to be with Shirou and the one's who agree, be happy! But to those how don't, sorry. The encounter with Rider will happen in the next chapter, so don't worry. So I will see you in the next chapter, Bye!**


	7. Chapter 7: Death is Inevitable

"Normal Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

Shirou soon reaches his house and gets Rin to help put Saber into bed.

"Tohsaka, could you come outside?" They get up and close the door behind them.

"How serious are her injuries? She's been asleep for quite sometime." Shirou said

She shakes her head "Don't worry, a servant can heal from any injury in time, it's something else that made her lose consciousness. When a servant, cancels out there Noble Phantasm it's not an easy task, it's like switching off something that wants to come out, in this case it's her mana. Still that shouldn't hurt her much. Just let her rest and she'll be fine." She looks at Shirou's injury.

"Are you sure your alright, Emiya-kun?" Shirou looks down at his bloody shirt.

"Im fine, you don't worry about it. I think it's fully healed anyway."

She hums in acknowledgement "Well, Emiya I hoped you learned from this incident, you need to take better control of Saber. It won't be good if she keeps using her Noble Phantasm, especially if she runs out of mana the worst case that could happen is she could dissapear on the spot."

"Hmm..." Shirou notices Saber approach "Saber, are you okay now?"

"Yes" she continues talking

"No need to worry, I'll know when to use my Phantasm, there's no need for Shirou to tell me that. Assassin is an enemy worth using a Noble Phantasm against. Besides, I'm confident I can defeat him with it. That's something I'm not wrong on, if you have any doubts I'll go and fight him again." Her legs suddenly give out and she's forced to lean against the wall.

"You idiot! Don't push yourself too hard!"

"What?! I know Caster and Assassin like the back of my hand, now is the perfect time to attack!"

"Didn't I say it already?! We still need more information on those two!"

"Stop speaking nonsense! If we keep avoiding battles like you do, than we'll lose no matter what!"

"Even in your current situation? Can't you just listen to me for just once?! Besides, don't servants need to listen to their master! Unlike you who ran off without me, you who was losing against Assassin!"

She grits her teeth "I did not LOSE! I would have defeated Assassin with my Noble Phantasm, had you not come barging in out of nowhere! Besides, the reason I went there was because of you Shirou! A kid who has no experience in battle at all!"

**"ENOUGH!" **Saber and Rin flinch from his voice, he takes a couple calming breaths.

"If I could fight, then you'll listen to me, right? The encounters with Lancer, Berserker, Rider, Caster and Assassin showed me how much more I need to improve on, so if I could fight better I'll take over for you in battle!"

"Huh...?"

Shirou starts running outside "Go to bed and sleep now! I'll fight you're battles from now on!"

"Wait Shirou! Are you serious?! Shirou!"

Rin sighs "Jeez..."

Shirou is outside, and training with his swords he swings them around and uses the fighting style of Archer _"Damn it! I need to get stronger!" _He swings them against a tree and only leaves deep gashes, he reinforces his arm out of frustration and punches the tree causing it to break.

Shirou is panting heavily, he hears footsteps behind him "Geez, for once I'm applauding you for your idiocracy." _  
_

"Tohsaka..."

"Saying you'll take over for Saber and "Fight her battles" huh"?

Shirou sharply turns his head away "Shut up, I mean it."

She gains an "are you serious" look "What did you say...? Do really think that you have the power to match a servant? Even with your abilities, do you also think the servants took you seriously? With Rider, she just toyed with you in the forest, Archer, was still injured from Saber so when you two fought he wasn't at full strength.

"...Well, I mean..."

"Jeez, it's to late to take back now, but... what's wrong with that?"

"Tohsaka...?" Shirou tilts his head in confusion.

She turns and smiles "I like the way you are now. Try your best, I'll help you if necessary. I want my partner to be stronger after all. But you'll still never beat me in a fight."

Shirou sweat drops "Really, Tohsaka...?"

"Hehe, work hard, Shirou I want to see a big improvement from you." She returns inside.

Shirou goes inside and lays next to Saber, she turns her head and speaks "Shirou are you awake?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I need you to go to the Dojo in the morning, it's important." She said

"Ah, yeah..." He doesn't hear any more talking so he lays down and drifts to sleep.

* * *

Shirou wakes up and is meet with an empty space, he remembers last night and what Saber told him to do, so he freshens up and heads to the dojo.

He opens the door and sees she is relaxing in a seiza position "So, Saber what do you want to talk about?"

She opens her eyes "Shirou... I thought about what you said yesterday, I find it very hard to let you do the fighting, but I know you won't give up on it, so..." She throws on of the wooden swords she has at Shirou, he catches it.

"I challenge you to a fight, Shirou! Even if you beat me once, that counts as a victory for me." She points her wooden sword at him.

"Huh?"

"But if I win, then you take back everything you said yesterday. This is how you would battle a servant."

"Umm, Saber-"

"Any objections, Shirou?"

"..." He doesn't speak he only gets into a stance, she notices this and gets ready as well.

"Then... Let the battle begin!"

No one moves, everything is silent_ "Does she really expect me to just jump into a match like this? She's a sword servant! It's like putting a match next to a torch! I'll just have to go all out in the beginning!" _Shirou reinforces his body to the max and charges at Saber, she instantly side-steps his charge and attempts to smack him in the head, but he narrowly dodges _"Holy crap! I barely saw her!" _Shirou turns around and attempts to strike Saber's side but she easily deflects it. She calmly looks with a slight hint of surprise in her gaze. Shirou speeds toward her again and slashes at her attempting to get at least one hit. She dodges each attempt smoothly. Shirou is panting slightly while she didn't even break a sweat. She smiles "My turn, Shirou prepare yourself!" Her moves are lightning fast, Shirou can't even keep up with most of them, only his reinforced body prevented him from a knock-out. Saber does an over-head strike that Shirou narrowly blocks, breaking his Shinai in two, Saber doesn't stop. She keeps charging forceing Shirou into a corner, she thinks she has the final strike until he rolls under her strike and picks up two new swords, he utilizes Archer's style of fighting next, Shirou smiles he at least has a better chance. He also uses slight reinforcement so they don't break like before. He charges again and she is actually forced to step back with Shirou's strike. He purposely leaves openings so she goes for them, he then takes that opportunity to use his other sword to attack her, it still doesn't work. "So, you purposely leave opening so the enemy thinks your a clumsy idiot with a sword, and then you deal damage to them with a sneak attack, this is a suicidal type of style Shirou! You won't live long with that!" She charges again and Shirou is forced to block a strike that sends him slamming into the wall. He gets up and waits for her to move as well. They both charge until...

"Good morning, Shirou!" She waves not noticing what's happening.

"Fuji-nee?!" Shirou trips and falls onto Saber, where she 'eeps' and they fall in a tangle of limbs.

"Ow, ow... huh? His eyes are closed and he feels a warm sensation on his lips, he opens his eyes and sees he's on Saber again... and their lips are touching! Shirou's face lights up like a furnace and Saber also gains a red blush as well. Everything is silent until a Tiger's roar is heard.

"SHIROU! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! YOU'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF POOR SABER-CHAN, AREN'T YOU?!" She readies her Shinai and her eyes are on fire "DIE, SHIROU!"

Shirou sighs with a fresh bruise on his cheek, he starts to cook until he hears a dreary groan behind him.

"Morning..." She shuffles across the floor, her hair is uncombed and messy, she looks like a zombie.

"Good, morning..." She ignores that and goes to the fridge.

"Milk..." She grabs the carton and chugs it.

"At least use a cup..." She finishes and looks at Shirou.

"Oh right, sorry, I'm no good in the morning so you'll have to get used to it." Shirou sweat drops.

"Well... I guess it's alright."

"Good morning, Emiya-senpai."

"Good morning, Sakura! Do you want to help me with breakfast?"

She smiles "That sounds good."

Everyone is finished with breakfast "Thanks for the meal!" Fuji-nee said

"Thanks for the meal." Rin gets up and cleans the dishes "Sakura don't you have club activities in the morning? I'm just freeloading so I'll clean up."

"Huh? But..."

"Don't worry Sakura, you helped enough already and Tohsaka didn't do anything to help."

"Alright..." She looks a little sad.

Tiger looks at the clock "Jeez, I should get going... Huh? Shirou shouldn't you be heading out too?"

"Ah... Don't worry about me, I'm going to stay home today." Saber, Rin, Sakura and Tiger pause to look at him.

Rin and Tiger close in on Shirou "What?! Have you lost your mind! What do you think your doing, Shirou?!"

Shirou starts to rub his shoulder "My old injuries are acting up, so I'm just going to rest."

Tiger instantly calms down "Old injuries...? You mean from ten years ago?"

Shirou scratches his cheek "Kinda, but I really do have some important things to do, so could you overlook it this time, please Fuji-nee?"

"Well when you put it that way... She sighs "Hmm, alright, alright."

"Fujimura?" Sakura said

"I'll just turn a blind eye to this for now, but you better explain yourself when I get back!"

Shirou smiles "I'm in your debt!"

Rin sweat drops _"Are you kidding me? Should a teacher really do this...?"_

Everyone besides Shirou and Saber are leaving but before Fuji-nee leaves she turns back to Shirou "You better not do anything to Saber-chan when I'm gone, Shirou... she's lucky I caught you before anything happened..." Shirou's face becomes darker than his hair "Goodbye, Fuji-nee!" he slams the door. He turns around to an equally red faced Saber. Shirou immediately bows "I'm sorry for what I did, Saber!"

She remembers when their lips were touching, how soft and warm his lips were "D-don't worry about it accidents happen..." Her face flushes even more.

"Well I think we should continue where we left off, eh? Saber?" She nods and they get up to go to the dojo, they soon are in there familiar stances, Shirou is in the two sworded stance and Saber in her own.

Wi grins "Here I come, Saber!" He charges with his reinforced body.

She also grins "Very well!" Their swords clash again and again.

The scene goes to Rin "Sheesh, wanting to fight against Saber for a whole day? I should've warned him or something. Well, maybe this will be a good experience for him, after this he should finally learn that he has no hope to fight against a servant alone..." She notices Issei walking and he notices her as well.

"Urgh! Tohsaka?!" He looks as if he got a heart attack.

"Good morning, Ryuudou."

"Why did I have to meet her so early in the day? Truly, an ill omen..."

"Aren't you being kind of rude?" She crosses her arms in the background.

"Hmm... By the way has anything changed recently at the Ryuudou Temple? Maybe, a new monk arriving, something like that?"

"Huh? I'm not sure how I feel about you suddenly inquiring about my home."

"It's nothing important."

He puts his hand on his chin "Hmm, now that you mention it... You know Kuzuki-sensei is staying at the temple?"

"Kuzuki-sensei that teaches here? I heard since he's like a big brother to you, so you offered him a room."

He pushes up his glasses "Indeed, he's also getting married pretty soon. Until then, his fiancé is staying with his at the temple too." Rin is surprised with this information.

"His fiancé? Could it be..." She feels Archer about to speak _"Hmm... Looks like he was pretending to be normal. Then that would make the woman he's staying with Caster..."_

Issei notices someone behind Rin "Ah! Kuzuki-sensei!"_  
_

He speaks with a monotone voice "Ryuudou, I would like to talk about this year's budget allocation. Could you come with me to the staff room?"

Issei smile "Certainly, I'll head there now. Okay, Tohsaka I'll be going now."

"Okay." Inside she's thinking _"Could Kuzuki be her master? If so then out next plan of action is simple, we defeat that teacher then Caster will be dealt with." _She feels Archer talk again_ "Yeah... let's confirm his identity soon."_

"Hey, Tohsaka!"

"Oh, good morning, Ayako."

"I didn't know you were so close with the student council president." She teases.

"Don't make me laugh, we only met by chance." After many hours Rin is on the roof.

"At any rate, all seven servants have made their appearance, excluding me and Emiya, that leaves five... out of those we don't know the masters of Lancer and Assassin, we at least know Lancer's identity so he's nothing to worry about besides his Noble Phantasm."

"Assassin seems to be allied with Caster, what we need to worry about right now is the one absorbing mana." Archer said

"Of course the most dangerous pair is Illyasviel and Berserker, to be honest I don't think we can stand up to him as we are now." Rin said

"Then our next target is the one targeting the school, Rider. Apparently, the boy said he has no intention of using the barrier, but... the number of magic circles is increasing, he's gathering mana even faster than before."

Rin frowns "Hmm... I don't believe Shinji for a second. Let's go Archer, we'll destroy a few magic circles to slow the barrier down. Geez, Emiya could have warned me sooner that he'd skip school today. I wonder how he's doing? Saber's probably filling him with holes by now."

Shirou blocks another superhuman strike from Saber, they both fight for dominance pushing against each others blades until they both jump back. Shirou sees Saber is sweating slightly after a near full day of fighting. Shirou is panting heavily and waits for Saber's strike, she speaks "You're much better than I though Shirou, but... you can never hope to match me!" She goes faster than before, it seems she is now getting a little serious, she charges and smacks Shirou on the head "Ow!" He rubs his head furiously trying to ease the pain "Shirou, don't you think you should take a break soon?" She doesn't relax her stance, she has to be ready for anything, he's proven that before.

"Are you kidding? This is the most fun I've had in a while! I think it's time for me to get serious as well..." Now Shirou knows this might be a bit much but he has to prove he can fight for her, he closes his eyes and 'loosens the shroud' he is met with pain, pain as bad, if not worse as creating new circuits out of his nervous system. He boosts toward Saber with his two swords, pumping his arms with prana past their limit. His shinai's slam into her's forcing her to step back a few times. She grits her teeth_ "He's gotten stronger!" _She's forced to release more of her power to push him back, he also releases more to match her, their strength's on the Shinai's causes them to break._  
_

Shirou is reaching his limit for the 'shroud' so he tightens it and looks calmly at Saber "Do you believe me now, Saber? That I'll be able to fight for you?... But it seems you still won't accept that so we'll fight together, okay?" She doesn't speak for a moment, then she sighs.

"Fine, Shirou if you're going to be that stubborn then I'll follow this rule as well."

Shirou notices the broken remains of the shinai's they used, he though of a way to land a hit on Saber.

"Well I think it's time to stop, we've been fighting since this morning and it's noon so how about lunch? Here, I'll throw these away." He reaches for Saber's outstretched had for her broken sword, but Shirou falls to one knee and hisses in pain.

"Shirou! Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, just need a little rest is all... Just kidding!" He swings the two broken swords at her, she narrowly dodges the sneak attack.

"That was dirty Shirou, though you did nearly get me. You should be more subtle..." a loud growl is heard and Saber gains a slight blush on her calm face. "It seems that I'm hungry as well, shall we adjourn to eat?"

"Ha ha, yeah, I think it's time to take a break." Shirou and Saber are relaxing in the dojo eating some Onigiri Shirou made "At any rate, you've been taking care of your body haven't you? It also seems like you had some sword training, did you have a good teacher?"

"Yeah, I couldn't really call him a teacher though, I learned how to use a sword for Kiritsugu."

"Kiritsugu...?" Her eyes light up a bit, as if remembering something.

"My old man, he's dead now. Kiritsugu was always overseas for something, so he wasn't home very often, but when he was we'd spend most our time in the dojo. No matter how recklessly I charged, I could never land a single hit."

"Is that so..." Saber mumbles

"Kiritsugu was an amazing person, he was strong, strong with a sword and magic. You could say I'm indebted to him. He was the superhero that I wanted to become. That's my goal, I'm trying to become as strong as I can, as fast as I can to become more like him. So that's why I can't be made to give up so easily."

"In that case, I'll stop going easy on you." Saber picks up a new Shinai and Shirou traces two, he can't have broken shinai's every time he uses them.

"All right, this time I'll land a hit for sure, no tricks, just until one of use makes a mistake." Shirou enters his two sworded stance.

"How interesting, let's see if you can turn the tables on me." Saber enters hers as well.

Tiger and Sakura enter the Emiya household. "We sure bought a lot today, do you think it's too much?" Sakura said

"Nah, it's fine, Shirou should be starving by now."

"Still, I wonder why he didnt go to school?" Sakura asks worryingly.

"Hmm... maybe he was just sick." She then remembers what happened in the morning. "...Wait Sakura, follow me and try to be as quiet as possible." They reach the dojo and Taiga puts her ear to the door, she hears Saber speak "You have to go faster than that, Shirou!" She then hears him as well "Don't worry about that! I'm just getting started!" She hears a series of grunts and shouts behind the door, her mind instantly went to the dirtiest thing she could think of and her face glows red.

She immediatly opens the door "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" What she saw was completely different.

"Fuji-nee?!" Shirou is distracted enough where Saber takes the opportunity to smack him in the face, causing him to tumble to the floor.

"Ah! Senpai!" Sakura runs over to Shirou, no one notices his swords fade away.

"That's not fair, Saber! Using that distraction to hit me!" Shirou takes Sakura's helping hand.

"Hmm... you should worry more about you losing, than complaining, Shirou." He starts to brood slightly.

"What were you two doing anyway?" Taiga asks

"We were just training a bit, Fuji-nee... Why what were you thinking we were doing?"

She thinks back to her innaproriate thoughts and her face flushes "No-nothing important!" She waves her hand frantically in front of her.

"...Well okay, I'm gonna go outside, you can join me if you want." He leaves and the cold air hits his face, he hears footsteps behind him and sees Saber.

"Shirou, shall we hold off on deciding the results of our duel?"

"Okay..."

"We'll keep practicing everyday from now on, and from the level you're already at you might be able to land a hit on me before you know it."

"Huh? Are you sure? I mean this is something that I wanted to continue, but is it okay with you?" Shirou asks

"Yes, look at this from a strategic standpoint, it's an advantage for you to get stronger."

Shirou clenches his fist "Just you wait Saber! Sooner or later, I'll make you admit defeat!"

"I'll stop going easy on you Shirou, so you better keep you're promise and not give up, okay?"

"Senpai! Saber-san! Dinners ready!"

"Ah! We'll be right there! Let's go and finish this later, Saber!"

"Yes, let's."

Its morning time and Shirou is rubbing his sore arms "Jeez, when Saber said she'll stop going easy she meant it. Now I'm all sweaty... I guess I'll take a quick bath before making breakfast..." Shirou takes off his shirt and enters the bathroom.

"Eh?" Shirou hears the voice and turns to see a very naked Saber.

Sabers face blushes but she keeps her calm demeanor "You also want to wash yourself after training?"

"Ah... umm... ah..." Shirou can't speak

"My apologies but this bathroom is currently in use. Would it be alright for you to wait afterwards, before using it Shirou?" She asks calmly

Shirou sprints as fast as he can "I'm sooorrrryyyy!" He screams out as his voice fades away, Saber only tilts her head in confusion.

While Shirou runs he didn't notice a body shuffle by and he slams into it, they fall and Shirou grabs onto whatever it is to protect it. He hears a loud 'eep' and they crash to the ground, Shirou groans and opens his eyes to a very red faced Rin and luckily his hands aren't on her body but they managed to pin her arms and he notices he has no shirt on as well..._ "Why does this keep happening to me!"_

"N-now Tohsaka I can explain..."

"Y-y-yo..." She started to shake

"Tohsaka?" Somethings telling him to run now!

"YOU PERVERT!" She immediately pushes him off and her magical energy spikes, she raises her sleeves and her arms start to glow.

"Wa-wait, be reasonable, Tohsaka! It was an accident!" Shirou starts running, and explosions of magic destroy the hallway.

"DIE!" his pleas for help are unheard.

After the very hectic morning and many repairs to the Emiya house, everyone sits down and enjoys breakfast.

"Hmm? Why's your face red, Shirou?" He immediately tenses.

"N-n-no reason! Whoa!" He nearly drops the plates.

"...Anyway, Sakura didn't come over at all, right?"

"Hmm... You're right. She didn't say anything last night either."

"Hey, Emiya." He turns to an angry red-faced Rin

"...Tohsaka..." He tries to inch away.

"Stop moving idiot, I'm not going to attack you. Besides that, why are you wearing your school uniform? Aren't you training with Saber?"

Shirou waits a few moments "...Ah, I'm going to school today, besides that we still have to deal with Rider's barrier, since I didn't go yesterday. We have to work together to make up for it today!"

"Hmm? You actually thought this through? I'm shocked. That's the plan, so today Saber will be standing guard at the house."

"Is that your plan? Very well, please be safe, both of you." Shirou starts to panic.

"S-Saber?!"

"What's wrong, Shirou?

"It's nothing... It's just that I want to say I'm sorry for what happened earlier, I was careless so from now on I'll knock!" He puts his hands together and bows.

Saber frowns slightly "I don't know what you're so flustered about Shirou, but there's no worry for you seeing my body, like I said before I'm a Servant before I'm a woman."

"Eh, But Saber...?" He tries to protest

"Let's go Emiya-kun." She grabs his arm and drags him out.

* * *

"If you're wondering a servants primary duty is to fight, are you trying to deny that when you treat her like a girl? You should be more careful. You have a tendency to see her as a girl only, you may not realize it but that's just going to upset her."

"R-right..."

Rin sighs "Anyway, what we should really worry about is, Rider. For starters, when Archer and I checked the school for the barriers progress, there are even more magic circles for activation than before. "

"...So he's trying to speed up the process?"

Rin nods "Yes, Shinji's story seems to get more and more far-fetched every passing minute. Thats why we need to keep interfering with the barrier, got it?"

"Got it..." He looks to the sky "_I'm coming for you, Shinji!" _They reach the school.

"Tohsaka, I'm gonna stop by the Archery Club, Shinji's probably there, and Sakura didn't come this morning so I'm a little worried."

"Yeah, I'll go on ahead." Shirou reached the Archery Range and sees Mitsuzuri get a direct bulls-eye with her shot.

"Looks like you're doing pretty good today, Mitsuzuri." She turns to see Shirou

"Oh! Hey, Emiya! Did you decide to come back to the Archery Club?"

"No, sorry it's not about that, has Shinji..."

"Morning, Senpai." She seems to brighten up seeing him.

"Good Morning, Sakura! Thank goodness, you were just at club."

"Yes, I'm sorry for not coming to help this morning. It's just... Shinji is just getting more and more opposed to me coming to your house..."

"That's not very nice of him..." Mitsuzuri said

"...Did he hit you...? Shirou asked

"Ah, no Nii-san didn't do that..." Shirou could tell she's lying

"Okay, well I hope everything works out for you, Sakura."

"Thank you Emiya-senpai, I should be going now."

"See you later, Sakura!" He waits for her to leave.

"So I wanted to talk to Shinji, do you know where he is?"

"Nope, sorry he's skipping like usual, he's been vice captain for so long and he's still slacking... someone should talk to him about this eventually."

Rin and Shirou are wandering the school looking for magic circles, Shirou smells the familiar sweet scent "All right, I think it's about right here." He points to the ground.

"Huh, go figure. Okay, step back." She lifts her sleeve and points her hand to the ground, she chants a few words and the ground glows for a second then disappears.

"You're on a roll today, Tohsaka."

"Yes, it's going a lot faster with you here. We're going a lot faster than I thought, if we keep this up we should be able to stop him until the end of the war and then Shinji's entire plan will end in futility."

"That would be good."

"All right, shall we go to the next one?" They leave the area, they don't notice a lone figure hiding in the corner "God damn you!" Shinji said

Shirou and Rin finish destroying as many magic circles as they can and go home. After dinner, they all sit and discuss there next course of action.

Rin begins to speak "So far, interference with the school barrier, is going fine. From Shinji's perspective it's getting worse and worse. So in the worst case scenario we should prepare for a direct confrontation."

Saber shakes her head "I don't think Rider is an opponent we should be afraid of, under the right circumstances it would be impossible for me to lose against her."

"I see, then that leaves only Shinji, but since he's not a proper magus he's not a problem to begin with..." She attempts to speak more but the phone rings.

"Shirou, the phone." Saber said

"Yeah, I'll be right back." He answers the phone.

"Oh! Hey Fuji-nee what's up? Aren't you still at school?... Uh huh... Yeah... What?! Mitsuzuri was what?!" Saber and Rin hear the commotion.

"What's wrong, Emiya-kun? I heard you mention Mitsuzuri."

Shirou turns to face her "She was found passed out in an alleyway on the way home from school, the police are saying it looks like she was attacked!"

"Is... Is she okay?"

"They say her life isn't in danger, but she hasn't regained consciousness."

Rin begins to think "I see... could it be Ayako was... Emiya-kun I'm going to go see her."

Shirou immediately follows "Wait, Tohsaka! If you're going then I'll go to the hospital too!" They reach the hospital and run to the woman at the desk.

"Excuse me! Could you tell me which room Ayako Mitsuzuri is in?" She looks through her files.

"Mitsuzuri? Ah yes, she's in room 207 however, visiting hours are already over for today." She said

"What?!" He tries to protest but Rin grasps his shoulder "Let's go Emiya-Kun."

"But, Tohsaka!-" She drags him away

"Just follow me, Okay? We don have time to do something as stupid as asking for permission, we'll just sneak in when no one is looking."

"Then master, I'll stand guard outside." Saber said

"Yeah, we'll meet up again when we're done." Shirou and Rin look at each room until they find their destination. "Alright, room 207..." She opens the door to an unconscious Mitsuzuri.

"Ayako!" She runs up to her and checks for any problems "This is..."

"What is it, Tohsaka?"

"Her life force is being gradually drained. Look at that wound on her neck, her soul was sucked out along with her blood!" There are two puncture marks on her neck.

"Her soul?! So this was the work of a servant?"

"Yeah, Ayako was the target of a "Soul Harvesting" a nasty thing to do."

"...This is all my fault, sorry Mitsuzuri... I'll find whoever did this and make them pay!"

"...Emiya-kun, there's something I have to do, we'll meet up with Saber and go home later."

"Wait, Tohsaka! Where's she going in such a hurry...?" He looks down to Ayako "Just who did this to you...?" He's about to turn away until he hears a giggling voice.

"I know something you don't know~."

"Who's there?!" He sees something behind the curtain.

"Maybe I'll tell you, Onii-chan." Her appearance is revealed her silver hair and red eyes.

"Illya?!" She jumps down from the ledge.

"I'm happy! You're still alive after all. How'd you get better after almost getting split in half?" She gets close, unreasonably close. Shirou backpedals to the wall.

She tilts her head in confusion "Is something wrong?"

"Ah, nothing's wrong..." She brightens up, she grabs his left arm and drags him.

"Then come on! I've got lots of stuff to... talk... about..." She looks at his arm and her face shows great confusion, she doesn't move for a couple of seconds then shrugs "Well let's go!"

"H-hey! Illya!" While she's dragging him, he's thinking about what he just happened "_Why did she pause, the only reasons she would is... Don't tell me she figured out! No... she just ignored it but she knew something was there... I'll have to be more careful..."_

"Come on! You're too slow!"

"Uh, Sorry." He sees her humming a small tune and skip across the floor, he smiles at what he sees, it reminds him of his Illya.

"Hey Shirou! What's this?" She points to a vending machine.

"Huh? You don't know what a vending machine is? You put money in it, and drinks come out."

"Hmm... I want one!" She points to one of the drinks.

"Uh, sure." He puts a couple of coins into the machine and her drink comes out "Here you go."

"Waah! Thank you! Hey, let's go to the roof! The stars are so pretty tonight!" They walk up the stairs and meet a peaceful sky and night.

"Uwaah! The starry sky is even prettier in my home town, but this still isn't bad. Don't you agree, Shirou?"

Shirou smiles, she really is like before "Yeah, it is..."

Her smile seems to get bigger, but it soon turns into a more serious one "So Shirou, you want to know what happened with that girl from the hospital room, right? Since you bought me this drink in exchange, I'll tell you." She walks up to him and grabs his face to bring him down "Okay, close your eyes Shirou!"

"H-hey!"

"Just relax. I'm going to show you my cognizance. I'll show you the form of the master who attacked someone in the street." She connects their heads together and everything fades to a multi-visioned area.

_"What the heck is this?"_

_"You're now seeing through my eyes, when I was passing through the street..." _The vision goes to Rider and a lone woman she's feeding on._ "There can you see them? Look's like she just brought down her prey." _He hears another voice speak.

"How's your condition, Rider?" She finishes feeding

"Good. Everything is going well." His appearance is revealed.

"Perfect... Well then shall we call it a night?" His smug smile ever present.

Illya releases his head "Well? Did you see it?"

_"Shinji..." _Shirou clenches his fists tightly.

"Aren't you happy you know who did it? So if Shinji dies, won't Shirou be in a better mood?" She asks innocently.

"..." She notices a presence coming.

"It's too bad, but it looks like someone came to interrupt our fun." She glides back onto the railing. "What a shame, there's still lots of stuff I want to talk about. Bye bye for now Shirou! Next time lets have a longer conversation, okay?" She jumps of the railing.

"H-hey, wait Illya!" He runs over and looks "She's gone..."

The roof door opens "Ah, this is where you were, Shirou? You hadn't come back yet, so I was beginning to get worried. Why are you on the roof?" Saber said

"Ah, no reason... let's go home, Saber." They leave the roof.

* * *

"So tonight's incident wasn't Caster's doing? Then who could it be?"

"Yeah I wonder..." He looks ahead _"I don't think I should tell them I met Illya..."_

"It was Shinji, he's the one who attacked Ayako, there's no doubt about it." They turn to see Rin standing at the front gate.

"What you were worried about is now happening, if you leave this alone the damage will continue to spread." They turn to see Archer as well on the opposite side.

"...We'll confront him tomorrow. Let's finish this now, before it gets any worse."

"What are you planning to do to, Shinji?" Archer immediately steps in front of Shirou, his height making him even more menacing.

"You still want to save his life, boy? A battle is determined with the death of the master. That's the foundation of the Holy Grail War."

"I'm not-" He's interrupted.

"Seems like you still don't get it, so listen up. You're the reason that Mitsuzuri girl got involved, if you hadn't listened to that bastard then none of this would be happening." His glare seems to get colder.

"If you're so interested in justice, then the best course of action is to get rid of Shinji now. If you do anything else to get in my way, I'll cut you down myself!"

"That's enough, Archer. This incident is also my fault too, I should have attacked Shinji without saying anything." They turn away to go inside.

"...I know, Archer." Everyone turns to Shirou "I wasn't asking to spare his life. I was asking if you were going to kill him or not, because if you don't then I will!" Archers eyes widen "I can't allow someone like him to live, someone who endangers the lives of the people I care about, my loved ones, is someone who doesn't deserve life!"

"..." Archer is surprised_ "The boy doesn't follow that idiotic goal to save everyone..."_

"...Anyway, we're going to Shinji's house tomorrow, it's you're choice if you want to follow." They go inside to go to sleep.

It's morning time and Shirou is getting ready to go to school.

"So you're still going to school after all, Shirou?"

"Yeah, that way if something happened then I can do something about it."

"Please be careful, the school could be considered an enemy encampment."

"Yeah..." Shirou finishes and prepares to heads out.

"I get the feeling that Rider's Master is in a hurry, if that's the case you should prepare for the worse, in the case of an emergency please don't hesitate to call me."

Shirou nods "Yeah, got it. I'll be going now." Shirou is in class now

"Okay everyone sit down! Huh? Is Matou absent? Does anyone know where he is?" Fuji-nee said

Shirou sighs _"Of course he's not here, considering what he was doing yesterday..."_

Meanwhile Shinji and Rider are on the roof and he's looking down at the other students.

Shinji shakes in anger "Damn fools! Mocking me... Rider! Activate the barrier, now!"

She nods "Very well... let us begin." She slams her hand to the ground causing a large magical seal to appear, the sky starts to bleed to red. She raises her arms to the sky **"Human Seal..." **She slams them down **"Bloodfort Andromeda!" **A large eye opens in the sky with large red tendrils spreading across the area.

The large pressure hits Shirou again _"This feeling...!" _He turns around "Everyone!" He saw everyone unconscious and they were all starting to melt "..." He turns around and runs to the strongest scent in the air, it leads to the roof. While he's running he releases half of the 'shrouds' power _"I'm coming for you, Shinji!"_

Shinji is smiling at what he did "Heh heh heh! Look at them, Rider! There dropping like flies! Ha ha ha!" His laughter filled with insanity. Suddenly the door gets horribly mangled and shot straight of its hinges, a foot is seen "Shinji!" He traces his swords.

"If you stop this now, I MIGHT give you a chance to live, decide now!" Shinji starts to sweat slighty but, his expression goes neutral.

"Oh, it's just you Emiya, I thought someone came up here to stop me." His insane grin returns "But this is perfect timing, as it turns out I've got some business with you too! I can't just leave you to die from the barrier! Don't worry, I'll make sure you suffer before you die! Kill him, Rider!" He extend his hand to aim at Shirou.

She hesitates slightly before she charges "Sir!" Shirou prepares for her insane speed and strength. He blocks her dagger and dodges her kick as well, they both start to speed up. Their movements are only blurs to the human eye, Rider attempts to cut him but all she meets is steel-like resistance.

"Stop playing around and kill him, Rider!"

She blocks another strike which makes her slide back _"But I'm actually going serious..."_

While Shirou is blocking, striking and parrying he turns a lone eye to Shinji "You're next, Shinji!" He turns his full attention back to Rider and starts to attack with full reinforcement.

"R-Rider! End this now!" Shinji reverts back to his pathetic self.

"Understood!" She goes into a hand stand and spins her legs to fast for Shirou to evade, her momentum channeled into one strong kick. He does the only thing he can do, he blocks. But from the force of the kick, he's sent flying, breaking the safety fence and sent flying down to the ground.

_"Damn it! I wasn't fast enough!" _He sees he's getting closer and closer to the ground _"I've only got one chance...!" _He pumps his legs with prana and reinforces them to near breaking point, he positions his legs to take the fall. He slams into the ground causing it to crack and crater slightly from the force. Shirou smiles then winces when he tries to move his legs. "It seems it wasn't as perfect as I thought..." He hobbles out and slowly makes his way back to Rider and Shinji. "Damn, I need help..." He looks at his command seals, he shakes his head "No, that would be a waste." He remembers that Rin said servants and masters are supposed to have a link to communicate, but his is fractured and the only proof of their bond is the symbol on his hand, a connection is still a connection. He closes his eyes and attempts to visualize their bond, he tries to grasp it as hard as he can _"Saber, I need your help." _He really hopes this works.

Rider looks down and sees a familiar red hair enter the school, she smiles slightly _"He's alive..." _She doesn't know why but she feels really relieved he's okay.

"Is... Is that it?" His smug grin comes back "Heh! Fools, that's what happens when you stand in my way!" Rider immediately notices multiple projectiles headed for Shinji and defend him.

"What?!" Shinji turns to see Rin and Archer.

"Its the end of the line, Shinji! You're out of chances, are you ready to die?! Archer!" Rin yells, he drops his bow and traces his twin swords and charges Rider.

"Tch...! Rider!" She also charges, while they clash she notices something, that looks the same _"Their similar..."_ She notices his movements are the same, if not more refined than Shirou's _"Interesting..."_

Rin points her hand at Shinji "It's over, Rider can't protect you now, surrender."

He smirks "Heh, you think I can't take care of myself without that tool?" He secretly pulls out a book.

"Behold! The true power of the Matou heir!" Suddenly three black waves of magic glide against the ground.

"What?! A magic attack!" She immediately makes a magical shield to block the attack.

"Tch! That must be...!" Shinji is shown holding a simple book that glowed with its power. "The book of false servants!"

"So you even know the Matou family's secret tomes. I'd expect no less from a Tohsaka. That's right, using this book I can temporarily command countless slaves. This is my substitute for a command seal." Magical energy shoots out around him "With this book, I can even use Rider's mana as my own! That way... I can even fight on your level in a magic battle!" He send's another blast of magic.

Shirou is still slowly making his way back, he nearly there to the roof until he hears a voice he's been hoping to hear "Shirou!" He turns to see a fully armored Saber. "Ah! Saber I didn't think that would work..." She nods "I was very surprised to hear you're voice, Shirou but I didn't question it, and came here as fast as I could." She notices he's limping "Are you injured, Shirou?"

"Ah, don't worry about it, we still need to stop the barrier, so we need to hurry!" He once again releases the 'shroud' and speed ahead, Saber is surprised to see him move that fast but doesn't comment, each step gets them closer and closer to the roof. He sees the light of the opening "Shinji!"

Rin and Shinji turn to see Shirou and Saber as well. "How are you still alive after that fall, Emiya?!"

"Emiya-kun?!"

"I already gave you my one and only chance and you blew it. Now it's time for you to leave this earth..." Shirou traces Gáe Bolg, and copy's the familiar stance of Lancer.

"H-hey, Emiya just wait a moment!"

"GÁE...!" He readies the spear

"Help me, Rider!" He tries to run.

"BOLG!" He throws the crimson spear, it jagged tip speeds toward Shinji aiming for his twisted heart. Just as it was about to hit, Rider appears and attempts to deflects it but it twists around her still trying to go for Shinji, since it was an imperfect copy, Rider is able to destroy it with a full power slash of her dagger. Shirou notices a deep gash on her leg, probably came from Archer. She grabs Shinji and drags him to the other side of the roof.

"Rider?!" Saber said

"What do you think you're doing?!" Shinji yells

"This is over Shinji. We can't defeat them as we as now. Let's abandon this place."

"Are you trying to run away?!" Rin said

"...I suppose if you intend to stop me, then I have no choice." She takes of her blind-fold.

Rin's surprised _"She took it off...?"_

"I'll have to show you... these cursed eyes of mine!" Her mystic eyes are revealed, Shirou looks away too late.

"No, Shirou! You mustn't look into her eyes!" Shirou feels like his limbs are lead. He struggles but he's able to move albeit slowly. He traces his twin swords and prepares for the worst.

"Rin!" Archer shields her and she covers her eyes.

"I know! Those are the cursed eyes of petrification! Anything in its field of vision is paralyzed, it fatal to resist!"

"If possible, I would have preferred to not use these. But since I can't defeat you with strength, I am forced to release these cursed eyes." She notices Shirou _"He's able to move...?" _Shirou slowly raise his arms ready for anything.

"I see... but, do you think it's strong enough to stop me?" Archer raises his arms with little to no difficulty and traces his bow and aims a sword-arrow at her.

"I am aware it has a very small effect on other Servants but if it can slow you down to buy me a few seconds then it will work." She does something almost all are surprised to see, she stabs her own neck causing a large amount of blood to spray out.

"Wha..." Archer said

"Did... did she use her own blood to create the magic circle?!" A large bloody magical circle soon forms in front of Rider, and an eye slowly opens until a bright light shines, blinding everyone. Rider takes the opportunity to grab Shinji and shoot off, annihilating anything in its path.

"Shirou, look out!" Saber grabs him and tackles him to the ground, Archer does the same with Rin. The ground has a large area destroyed from the Rider's power.

"Hmph, that's some ridiculous power." Archer said, he looks to Shirou_ "He was serious... he really was going to kill that Matou boy..."_

"Tch, they got away." Rin said with annoyance

"Tohsaka, we should split up and search the city, he couldn't have gone far!"

She nods "Yeah, Archer let's go!" They soon disappear, Saber and Shirou also go.

"Shirou, do you know where they are?"

"No but I have a guess, since we destroyed the barrier at the school, he has to be desperate. I don't think he'll go very far from the school. With all that power he gained, he has to be planning to do a counter-attack. He has to be in a place where many people gather!" Shirou and Saber search the city until night, they finally reach the tallest building in Fuyuki City.

"Shirou I sense a hostile presence nearby, please be on guard. Shirou, if she release that magic again, even I could not survive. If I use my Noble Phantasm, it could easily defeat her, but in such a heavily populated area..."

"No, sorry Saber but it would cause meaningless deaths to achive our goal. I'll leave Rider to you, Saber."

"Understood." From a distance Rider is watching.

"Saber and her master are approaching, I'lli intercept them!" She jumps down and falls like a comet to them.

"Shirou, watch out!" He jumps back and a large object smashed into the ground.

"Rider!" She charges her and their weapons clash. They move at speed no man can follow, Rider and Saber soon jumps to the building to battle.

Shirou reinforces his eyes and looks up to see Shinji staring down at him as well, he gets inside and run's up the stairs, he opens the roof door and sees Shinji.

"So you're finally here, Emiya." He opens his book.

"Shinji, when I used Gáe Bolg, it was a mistake... I'll only use my fists to make you suffer. I'll make you suffer for all the lives you've endangered." Shirou moves his arms and legs into a familiar stance. He adopt the style which nearly destroyed his body, the style which was used by a dying man, the style he watched with his fractured mind. **Super Bajiquan**, It's an ultimate technique born from the miraculous fusion of Bajiquan and magecraft, having become an Internal Art that transcends the External Art. It is a style that takes the shortest route without any initial movement to damage the inside instead of the outside.

"What do you think you are? Some sort of martial artist?!" He sends multiple lashes of magical energy at Shirou.

He doesn't move, he waits for the perfect moment and uses the "moving stance" with a single hard step he shortens the distance, without warning he's already infront of Shinji.

"What!" That's all he can say before he's punched straight in the chest, he's sent tumbling to the ground. His first sounds are his screams of pain, he tries to crawl away.

"Oh stop crying, only a couple of your ribs broke, if it was perfect you'd be dead." He slowly walks toward, Shinji.

"Wh-what are you!" he backpedals to the roof door, he send's another wave of magic, Shirou just raises his arm to block it, the magic disappears with a swipe of his arm.

"...Sometimes I wonder that myself..." He immediately starts to walk again, Shinji sends wave after wave at Shirou, he just ignores the pitiful magic and keeps walking. Shirou suddenly boosts and grabs his arm. **_"Six grand opening- elbow thrust!"_ **Shirou lifts his arm from below and then slams his left elbow into his chest, he then immediately flips and slams him to the ground. "Hmm... It seems I broke 3 more ribs, and your sternum cracked." Shinji can no longer scream, he's all out of breath to scream with. Just as Shirou was about to deal more damage, Rider appear._ "Where's Saber...?" _He is also immediately frozen, and she kicks him away.

"I won't let you take another step toward, Shinji!" She helps him up "Are you alright?"

"R-rider?" His voice full of pain, she looks at him from the corner of her eye "I'm going to finish this now, please stay back."

"Ri-right." She puts him down so he can rest.

"Rider don't make me do this, stop now an we can figure everything out, I don't want to kill you..." He forces more prana to his body, making his body move easier and easier.

She releases even more power for her cursed eyes "I can't, I must follow his orders until he dies or I die. If you keep pumping your body with prana you'll destroy your magical circuits."

"...Heh, it doesn't matter, most of these aren't mine anyway." She's curious and confused by this answer. But before she can do anything, a silver and blue blur appears and stands guard in front of Shirou.

"Saber!"

"It seems I've run out of time." Rider jumps back and stabs her neck, causing the bloody magical circle to appear, the white comet shoots out and flys toward Shirou and Saber.

"Shirou, watch out!" She grabs him and jumps away. When they look to the sky, they see a beautiful pegasus. "Allow me to introduce my friend here, her name is Pegasus, a mythical beast from the age of the gods, who commands the heavens!" She charges at Shirou, Saber immediately uses her sword to deflect the blinding comet, with each hit she's forced back causing more and more damage to appear on her form.

"Saber, you're pushing yourself too hard!"

"I-I'm fine, I just need to find the right moment to counter!" She readies her sword again.

"I think it's time to end this." Rein's appear on the Pegasus and her magical power raises even more.

**"BELLEROPHON!" **She waits in the air, ready to erace them off the face of the earth.

_"The only way for, Saber to defeat that is..." _He turns around and sees her raise her sword, the wind picks up and her golden sword is revealed. "I'll use every ounce of my power... to defeat Rider!" Rider sees this attempt and speeds toward them. Saber's mind flashes toward the dream she had, she grimaces slighty.

"Rider! I'll answer you're Noble Phantasm with my own! I'll open a path straight through you're charge with a single strike!"

"Saber, stop! We'll figure out another way!" She turns her head to look at him "I'm sorry, Shirou... this is the only way!" He knows if they clash, Rider will lose and she'll die, Shirou once again releases the 'shroud' and focuses on one move that was able to block it. He raises his left arm and point it in the center of the air waiting for the right moment.

**"EX..." **She raises her sword, golden light flows out.

**"...CALIBUR!" **She brings it down, a wave of holy light speeds toward Rider, and as soon as she was about to be consumed by the energy, a voice is heard.

**"RHO AIAS!" **The seven pedals appear in the sky, not used to help Rider's or Saber's Noble Phantasms, just used to block. Getting hit by two fully powered Noble Phantasm's is not a good feeling at all, Not. At. All. Instantly 5 pedals are destroyed, he felt his spine crack, his stomach rupture, his bones break, one of his eyes went blind. He's pretty sure his heart stopped, the 6th pedal breaks.

***CRACK* **

"..." What was that? He doesn't remember, he can't remember. Another memory disappears... was that it? The 7th pedal breaks and Rider is consumed by the holy light, as it clears she is gone.

Rin and Archer are making their way to the building until they see the two Noble Phantasms about to clash.

"Those are..." Rin said

Just as they were about to clash the 7 layered shield appears and blocks each hit. Archer nearly trips _"Rho Aias?! Thats not possible!"_

"Looks like they finished without us... lets go."

Shirou and Saber are quiet. They hear Shinji fall to his knees "R-Rider was defeated... without a trace..." the book slowly burns away, what he didn't notice is it didn't fully burn. He looks to Shirou "Stay away!" He attempts to drag his pain ridden body to the roof door.

"..." Shirou slowly walk to him until Shinji is cornered against the wall, Shirou grabs him by the throat and lifts him to the air. "Shinji, you endangered too many lives, so I cannot allow you to live, your twisted heart will never change and you will only abuse any power you achieve, for this you must die..." Shirou puts his right hand on Shinji's chest.

**"Zabaniya..."**

"W-wait, Emiya!" Fear and pain in his eyes.

**"Delusional Heartbeat."** He feels Shinji's blackened heart crush.

Shinji screams until he can't scream anymore, his mouth spews blood and the light leaves his eyes, Shirou drops his lifeless body with a heavy thud.

"Sh-Shirou..." She falls and her breathing becomes heavy, she begins to sweat profusely and falls unconsious.

"Saber! Hang on!" Shirou picks her up and runs down the stairs to home.

Meanwhile Rider appears before her true master.

"Are you okay, Rider?" Her appearance is bad. A part of her face is burned, she has multiple gashed on her body and her right arm is a bloody mess.

"Yes, I just need to rest for a bit, in time my wounds will heal. If Shirou didn't use that strange shield I would have died."

"...and Shinji?"

"He killed him..."

"...let's go home, Rider."

"Yes, let's go, Sakura."

**Author Notes:**

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the very long wait but here you go! I want to clear a couple of things. One, I'm not 100% sure if Shirou even saw True Assassin use that Noble Phantasm or even if he can copy something like that, but I wanted to give that to Shirou and it seemed like an appropriate death for Shinji... Also I'm making Shirou's tracing ability able to see the history in the moves of Kotomine and copy them, he's not able to do it perfectly maybe up to 70% to 80%, possibly more with training. Anyway next chapter is the Illya Arc, Bye!**

**P.S Some of you say that Shirou's tracing ability only works on swords and other weaponry and stuff, which is true, but I want to make it go a step further. I want it to be able to trace fighting styles as well and for Shirou to utilize those to his advantage. **


	8. Chapter 8: Counter Guardian

"Normal Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

Tohsaka puts Saber to bed.

"I've done all I could." She announces

Shirou doesn't talk.

"She used almost all her mana, she won't last long. With that fractured connection, you can't support her with a sufficient supply." Shirou still doesn't speak

He tightens his fists, a small bit of blood leaks out. _"Damn it! I wasn't fast enough!" _Shirou grits his teeth, if only he reacted a little faster none of this would be happening. At least no one died, he looks at Saber's condition and only gets more and more frustrated by the minute, can't he do something?

"What exactly happened?" Rin asked. "I know you guys found Shinji, but Saber coming back like that... did you defeat Rider, or did you retreat?"

"Rider was defeated... and Saber is like that because of her Noble Phantasm."

"What about, Shinji?"

"...I killed him..." Rin's eyes widen slightly.

"Besides that, what was that strange thing in the sky, it looked like it had pedals or something, but whatever it was it had a lot of magical power, as much as a Noble Phantasm... do you know what that was, Emiya?" She puts her hand's on her waist, waiting impatiently for an answer.

"...I don't know, when their noble phantasms clashed, all I saw was blinding light." Shirou hopes he sound's convincing, her eyes narrow but she doesn't comment.

"...Well Saber's existence will soon fade, if we don't figure something out. She's fighting for her life right now, trying her hardest to stay in this world."

"Is there any way?" He asks hopefully

"Since you can't supply her with prana, there are only a couple of methods but one sticks out."

"What about the other one's?" He asked, he wanted every option available.

She instantly denies his request "The others will take too long for you to learn, and one of them..." Her face reddens slightly "Anyway, Shirou the only way for her to stay alive is for you to use a command seal and make her consume souls."

"No way, Saber would never agree with that, and she would also resent me... forcing her to kill innocent people is not how she is." He said

She frowns, she gets up and moves to the kitchen but pauses "I'll let you decide, Saber will get a little better in the morning but only just, you choose to let her disappear or consume a soul, you better do this quickly, she doesn't have long and who knows when the next master will attack."

"Damn..." he looks at Saber, her breathing calmed slightly, but her skin is pale and she's sweating a lot. "I'll figure this out, Saber just hang on a little longer..." he wipes some of the sweat that rolls off her face. He gets up and wander's outside, going anywhere to clear his head. "I'm going out, Tohsaka I'll be back soon..." She appears at the door "Be careful..." She has this nagging feeling in the back of her head but she ignores it.

Shirou wanders, until he feet unconsciously lead him to the park. He spies a lone bench and he sits down, all his energy lost. He can't do anything, all his accomplishments will soon disappear with Saber... What does he do? He looks to his hand "_Is this really the only choice...?" _He punches the bench, hard enough for it to crack. As he was about to leave, a red figure blocks his path.

"What do you want, Archer?" He only glares.

"...Who are you...?" Shirou is confused.

"What?" Archer cold eyes become colder.

"I said, Who. Are. You? You can't be Emiya Shirou, you have too much knowledge of many things, you are much faster and stronger than before. You are able to use projection to a very high degree, I was just going to pass it off as you being a little better, but as soon as I saw Rho Aias, something like that is impossible for you to see." He traces his twin swords and points one at him "I say this one more time, WHO ARE YOU?!"

Shirou curses slightly, he knew using that move would be a very large risk, he couldn't get out of this, he had to tell the truth for once.

He sighs heavily "...I guess I have no choice, but before I begin you have to promise me you won't tell Rin." He puts his sword down and slowly nods "...Okay, I guess the first thing I should tell you is I am Emiya Shirou but this, all of this is very different from my war." Archer tries to speak "Stop, I'll answer all your questions after I finish." Shirou then tells him about the horrors of his war, of how the shadow nearly consumed and killed all the servants, how Sakura became the shadow and nearly killed everyone and everything, he explains about True Assassin, Blackened Berserker and Saber-Alter. How he gave up his ideals for Sakura, and of how he lost his arm to the shadow trying to protect Illya, how the Archer of his war gave his arm to him. His near death battle with Kotomine Kirei, and most importantly telling Archer he knows who he really is.

"...The last thing I remember, was preparing to destroy the Holy Grail, but Illya tried to sacrifice herself so I would live. I guess I made a wish and ended up here..."

Archer is silent, he doesn't speak and he moves out of the way.

"If you want anymore answers just asks me, I guess." He passes him and starts walking, suddenly his instincts are screaming at him to move but it's too late. He's slashed, a bloody x rips across his back.

"Gah! What the hell, Archer!" He jumps out of the way and traces his own swords. Archer is ready, his swords dripping with his blood. "Just because the other fool stopped trying to kill you doesn't mean I will! I must stop you from ever becoming a hero, no matter the cost!" He attacks at speeds where Shirou can barely see. With each hit he's forced back deeper and deeper into the park's forest.

"I told you, I know I can't save everyone! That's why I abandoned that ideal! I only want to save my loved ones, even if I have to kill lives to do so!" Shirou raises his twin swords and meets Archers hits blow for blow.

"Meaningless! Do you think I'll believe you just like that?! I'll just let this go?! I cannot allow this cycle to continue!" He slams into Shirou's swords causing them to shatter and for him to fall to the ground.

"That's why I... No you, should never become a **Heroic Spirit**, even if you differ from my path, there is still that chance..." He closes his eyes,** "I am the bone of my sword..." **A ring of fire circles around him and spreads out, consuming Shirou with it.

"This is..." Shirou knows what this is, its the very soul of Archer, every sword is a sword he's used to slay innocent people to save others, the world is dark and empty, cogwheels are in the air spinning endlessly. An empty plain, which only swords are filled. No one to help, always alone.

"That is why you must die, Emiya Shirou." He raises his hand, numerous swords lift into the sky.

"Don't screw with me!" He retraces his swords and prepares for the unlimited blades.

"Foolish boy..." He brings his hand down, every noble phantasm he's seen and used is brought down.

"Do you think..." Shirou deflects and strikes every blade he possibly can, some manage to cut his cheek and arms.

"...I'll just lie down and die?!" He releases the 'shroud' and destroys the swords at a faster rate until they slowly die down. Shirou breathes heavily his arms are on fire, he feels his circuits burning. Archer is about to raise his arm, his signature smirk on his face.

"Why do you regret this?" Archer stops for a moment. He doesn't respond, that empty silence is an answer enough.

"Why?! You became a Heroic Spirit! You achieved the dream of Emiya Shirou, you became a hero!" Archer laughs, a resentful, bitter laugh.

"A hero? No... I became a **Counter Guardian **one of Alaya beast's. We were used when the extinction of mankind is detected, we appear to stop the person or thing responsible. Whenever a great disaster is upon mankind, we eliminate the source of the disaster. I was forced to kill anyone who was involved, it didn't matter if the person was guilty or innocent, good or evil I just killed until the threat was gone."

"But you saved lives!" Shirou yells

"Yes, I did, I saved many, I saved the world a couple of times too, but all that was rewarded to me was despair and regret, and after that was betrayal and death." His smirk disappears.

"I was never a Hero, I only lived long enough to become the villain. I killed and killed and killed and kept killing, It didn't matter who was innocent or not, I killed thousands to save millions then killed those millions to save billions. It became an endless cycle, no matter how many I saved someone still died. I realized that no matter how many lives I saved, people would still die. I tried to live an impossible fantasy, I was forced to betray my own ideals to protect them. I learned you can't save everyone, and you want to know my reward? One of the people I saved accused me of starting the entire conflict! I was executed and betrayed by my allies, but even then I didn't hate mankind. I just wanted to make everyone happy, I wanted to fulfill my dream, it was always at an arms reach, but it kept getting farther and farther away, until it disappeared... It was only after I saw humans self-destruction and was forced to oppose my own ideals countless times, I gave up on them." His steel grey eyes harden on Shirou.

"That is why, you must die. So if I can stop any of this from happening, even if it's only a slim chance, I'll take it!" He retraces his swords.

"...You're wrong... because I will not fall into depair, I won't fall into a constant cycle of regret! This is why I'll never acknowledge you! I'll crush those twisted ideals with my own hands!" His circuts burn, he traces his swords again and charges.

"You are a fool! How are you so sure? How do you know that you won't have to sacrifice your loved ones to save lives. Even with our differences there is the chance that you will end up in my position, saying the same things!" Archer also charges, he uses his superior skill to block Shirou's hits and strike at another angle.

"I don't care! I will never sacrifice my loved ones!" His mind flashes to the purple hair girl. "Even with that small chance that my life goes the same as yours, they will never die by my hand!" He deflects his hits, only through his reinforced strength and speed he's able to do so.

They clash, their hits creating sparks. They follow each others strikes, blocking, slashing, parrying.

"You are a broken, distorted human! A hopeless boy who shouldn't even be alive!" He swings his swords with all his strength, he once again shatters Shirou's blades. "That man should have never saved you..."

"Kiritsugu was the closest thing to a father I ever had! When he saved me I chose to follow his path as a hero, until that day came... to decide if I would abandon them and fight for the ones I love or become the exact same as him... " he traces a longsword and once again they clash. Swords soon start to dig their way out of Shirou, his mind is starting to fall apart, he feels his body breaking down. Their sword slam into each other, shattering to pieces.

"I was driven by the singular belief to live solely for others! I just kept believing and running forward, but I now understand that it's impossible!" They both trace their twin swords, clashing again.

"You are still that naive boy who will deep down still be the same! That day will come... when you're in the same position as me, in order to save the lives of your loved ones you decide to sign that contract..." Archer surges forward and kicks him, Shirou drops to one knee, blood dripping from his wounds. His circuts heat up, charging his body with power.

"My...my body is made of swords!" He forces his body to move, ignoring the 'shroud' he once again raises his swords.

"You're still..." He said

"I won't lose to you... I don't mind losing to anyone else, but... I can't lose to _myself_!" He crouches slightly and boosts off the ground.

"You...!" Their swords cross paths, each hit causing the air to shake "It's impossible to keep them safe forever, yet you still foolishly struggle?!" Shirou blocks a hit, he feels his teeth rattle.

"I'm not wrong!" Shirou strikes with all his strength. Archers blades shatter, he grunts in surprise, he immediately traces his swords again and the battle resumes, one trying to overpower the other. Archer notices Unlimited Blade Works is warping, the cogwheels are disappearing, and the sky is clearing. _"What in the world...?"_

"That's the exact mistake I made! I was forced to sacrifice them... to save the lives of many... one of their lives doesn't equal to a million lives!" He redirects his strikes, causing Shirou to leap back.

"There'a no way it's a mistake! I will sacrifice the lives of millions to save the ones I love! Even if the time comes where it's impossible to save them, I'll keep going no matter how many die! I'll even sacrifice myself to save them!" He rushes forward swinging his swords faster and faster, his muscles hurt, his lungs burn. Yet he keeps going, relentlessly attacking, losing all his acquired skills to just attack. He manages to force Archer to stumble.

Shirou starts to yell. He runs, slowly picking up momentum. He throws Kanshou, and positions Bakuya and starts to get closer and closer to Archer.

His eyes widen, as the blade is about to pierce his body he smirks, his eyes close tiredly and he awaits his end... yet there's no pain, why? He opens his eyes to see the boy holding Bakuya against his chest, not moving.

"It's my win, Archer." He said calmly

He gives a small smile "Yeah, and it's my loss..." Shirou looks directly at him, his eyes burning with a fire Archer has not seen in a long time.

"Whatever awaits me in the future, I won't regret it! I'll overcome it, I will never sacrifice my loved one's! I'll keep going no matter how much it hurts, I will never turn into you! Saving everyone is an impossible fantasy, and I know if I had followed your path the chances of turning into you is even greater. That's why my loved ones are always first." Shirou said, he slowly brings his sword down, it drops uselessly to the ground, disappearing into dust.

"Indeed... It'd be a lie if you didn't." The Reality Marble slowly warps into the cold night sky, Archer's swords disappear from existence. He turns away and walks, disappearing into the night.

Shirou can barely move, he uses the rest of his strength to stumble back to the bench. He rests there, he slowly closes his eyes.

"Ah! Good evening, Onii-chan!" he blinks his eyes, the voice is familiar.

"Hello Illya..." She looks worried, she poked his head.

"Hey! Don't fall asleep!" She starts to pull on his cheeks, hard.

"Ow, ow, ow! Okay!" He opens his eyes, knowing what will happen if he closed them, he tries his best to stay awake.

She starts to pout.

"Geez, I come all this way to see you and you fall asleep, Onii-chan!" She smiles "But I'm glad! I wanted to talk to you for a long time!" She tilts her head curiously.

"What happened between you as that red guy?"

"Ah, nothing we we're just... disagreeing on something."

"But you got all hurt!" She said, her face showing slight anger.

"It was a large disagreement..." He can see she doesn't buy it.

"...Well, I didn't come all the way just to see you..." Her expression changes, her eyes turn sharp and cold, her lips curl up darkly. "Saber's going to disappear soon, and you don't know what to do, right?"

"!" Shirou tries to move but he feels constricted, he can't move. His dwindling strength already disappearing. But besides all that it feels... familiar, but weaker...

"I was surprised you know... I didn't think you would kill Rider's master, I was watching from the sidelines and I was amazed at what you did! I was even going to kill him, but you beat me to it!" She once again smiles brightly.

Shirou jerks his body to move, he feels his limbs are numb, he forces his Od through his system to move his body to resist the strange magic.

"Illya you...?!" He gets up and moves away from her.

"Hmm...Your magical resistance isn't that bad, it manages to block my eyes, but you must be so tired, right? Come with me peacfully or else..." She snaps her fingers and the mad beast materializes behind her. "I'll take care of you, okay? Soon enough Saber will disappear and you won't have to worry about anything else again." Shirou doesn't have any options, he's almost out of energy and attempting to fight Berserker now will be suicide.

"Fine... I'll go with you..."

"Perfect! Berserker If you would..." He immediately charges and punches Shirou in the chest, he's sent flying to a tree and snaps it. The pain causes him to black out. _"D-damn it..."_

"My lady." One of her servants appear.

"Yes, please go ahead." The person grabs Shirou and they drives away.

What no one noticed is a purple haired woman hiding in the trees_ "Shirou..." _Deep within her chest she feels slight panic and worry "Sakura will want to know..." She jumps away dissapearing into the night.

* * *

Saber's eyes open in surprise "Shirou!" She looks around to an empty space. She struggles to get up and, uses the wall as support. She looks around and sees Rin in the kitchen.

"Rin!" She jumps slightly in surprise

"Saber! Are you well enough to move?" She sees fear in Saber's eyes.

"Rin, listen to me, Shirou has been captured by the enemy!" Her eyes widen and she immediately drops whatever she was doing and they leave. She follows a magical signature to the park. Her hands begin to glow "I can feel it. There are magical remains..." She looks deeper into the park "But what is that...?" She feels a humongous amount of residual magical energy. It feels familiar.

"It must have been a fight..." Saber grits her teeth _"What happened to you, Shirou...?!"_

"That idiot... being so troublesome." She turns and looks at Saber "Illyasviel..."

"Rin?"

"The one who took Emiya-kun was Berserker's master!" Rin yells

Saber's eyes widen "Please Rin! We need to go now!"

Rin nods "Of course, were allies. It wouldn't do me any good if my partners gone." She looks into the dark forest "It's fine with you, right Archer?" The red knight is there with his arms crossed. "Whatever you decide, I have no objection." He looks to the sky _"Foolish boy..." _Rin notices his clothes are scuffled and cut, but she doesn't comment. While they are making their way to Illya, Rin speaks up "By the way Saber, when you were fighting Rider did you see anything strange? When your noble phantasm clashed with Riders I saw a large... magical shield in the sky, do you know what I'm talking about?" Saber's eyes widen, she frowns, and becomes deep in thought, she remembers Shirou raising his arm and activating that magic_ "By why did he do that...?"_

"Saber?" She looks to Rin "Yes... I know it was Shirou..." Rin stops running, her eyes widen_ "He lied about that before, but for what reason...?" _She looks at Saber "We'll figure this out later, we should hurry." They follow the magical trace.

Shirou opens his eyes to a black area_ "This again...?" _He suddenly sees a golden light, a beautiful sword appears "_It's that sword..." _As he was about to reach it he is jolted away, forced back until the sword disappears.

He wakes up, the darkness fades and he notices he's in a very ornate room, it is a large room filled with... stuffed animals. It looks more like a castle than anything else. He tries to get up but notices he's tied down to the chair. He was about to use reinforcement until the door opens.

"Your finally awake! Good morning, Onii-chan, how are you feeling?"

"..." He doesn't respond, she tilts her head in curiosity.

"Hmm? Did the spell not fully wear off?"

"I'm fine... I just don't feel like talking, being captured and all..."

"You're not satisfied? Prisoners are supposed to stay in the dungeon, but I took the trouble to bring you to my room." She skips around the room, smiling and twirling around. "Besides, no one will come to save you, the Einzbern Castle is a couple hour trip to get here and is separated from the town by a large forest, and even then it's protected by a large and powerful Bounded Field, there's no way Saber will save you, and Rin will abandon you."

Shirou couldn't risk anything, sure he could easily break out, but he might hurt Illya. He especially didn't want to do anything with that Giant looming in the shadows.

"Besides." She said "You're special Onii-chan." She gets up on his lap and positions her hands on his thighs, getting uncomfortably close to a certain area. "It's because you're _mine_ Onii-chan. You can't do anything anymore, just stay with me and serve me and me only."

"No... I can't just give up now! I can't give up on Saber! She needs me to be her master!" Her smile fades and is replaced with a blank expression.

"I see... you betrayed me as well." She turn and walks out the door. The only reason for that is...

"No! Illya you leave them alone! This is between you and me!" Her face shows gleaming with a murderous intent.

"Why? When they die, perhaps then you'll show some regret..." She walks out the door but stops, she turns and an insane grin etched across her face.

"I'll kill you last, Onii-chan so sit back and enjoy the show." She closes the door with a loud click.

"Damn it..." He shifts his hands and notices they aren't bound to tight, he reinforces his muscles and rips out of his bonds. He stood up and rubbed his wrists, he makes it to the door, but hears footsteps and indistinct voices _"Are those guards patrolling?" _He traces his swords and waits, he waits until the footsteps stop. He charges at the door yelling a battle cry. The door suddenly opens and the familiar white blouse and blue skirt enters his vision.

"Sa-saber?!"

"Shirou?!" They crash into each other, and once again, Shirou and his bad luck strike.

"Owww... That hurt." He notices he's on top of Saber... again... why does this keep happening...?

"Saber! Why are you... I mean I'm glad you're alright!" He smiles not caring about the position he's in.

"Yes, I'm relieved you're also safe and sound, Shirou!" She smiles, a huge weight lifted of her shoulders.

"Well aren't you two getting comfy?" He turns to see Rin and Archer.

"Tohsaka! Archer!"

"Why are you still sitting there! We confirmed that Illya has left the estate, because of that, we got a golden opportunity to sneak out." Shirou sighs in relief.

"That's good, she's probably headed to my house." When he gets up Saber notices how torn and bloody Shirou's shirt is. "Shirou did something happen? Did Illya do this to you?!"

"Ah, No she didn't do anything..." His eyes meet Archers for a split-second "It was... Berserker, I didn't go down without fighting but he overpowered me and I got captured..." He can see she didn't buy it, she's about to speak up but, Rin interrupts them.

"Enough chit-chat already, don't forget we're still in enemy territory. There's still a chance Illyasviel will come back at any moment, and knowing her will end in catastrophe. So let's go!" She turns and runs, not waiting for an answer.

"Shirou..."

"Yeah..." They also run. While they're running, Shirou notices how much Saber's struggling "Saber, are you sure you're alright? You seemed... out of it before, distant."

She smiles even as sweat rolls down her face and her breathing becomes heavier "Dont worry about me, Shirou please have faith in your servant." It took some time, many, many hallways, twists and turns until finally they reach the main entrance.

"Good we made it." Rin said "We should hurry, it's almost sunset and I assume none of you want to spend the rest of the day on the highway, right?" Her footsteps echo, each step bouncing of the walls, it's dead silent.

"Are you leaving so soon? and just as I was hoping to play some more... what a pity." The voice that no one wanted to hear breaks the silence. They all turn to see Illya and the Berserking Giant. The atmosphere shakes from his power, even if he knows he can defeat him, he still feels the impending doom deep in his gut.

"Good evening, I'm glad you came from your side, Tohsaka Rin." She said darkly

"..." Rin doesn't move

"What's wrong? It's boring if you're quiet."

"...So you never left you're home, right? Illyasviel?" Rin said quietly

"That's right! She replies enthusiastically "I knew that you all came, this is the forest of the Einzbern's after all so I'm able to stretch my senses around it." Her expression darkens "Whoever intrudes cannot escape." She looks behind her "Well then, Berserker..." He jumps down his overwhelming size blocking their view.

_"What do we do...?" _Shirou looks to his left hand "It has to be done..." He walks forward.

"Emiya-kun?!" He ignores her.

"Master, stop!" He keeps walking, he raises his hands "Trace O-" he's interrupted.

"Wait!...please listen, Archer... with a few minutes, I don't mind." Her face grimaces "Please! Stall him so we can escape!" Everyone goes silent.

"..." Archer has a neutral face.

"Rin, that's...!"

_"She's telling her own servant to die!" _He can't allow this!

"This is absurd Rin! Fighting someone like Berserker is suicide!"

"...This is the only way, Archer will buy us sometime." She doesn't speak anymore.

"It's fine, if Rin and the others were to escape first, I can escape too. Independent Action is an Archer's field of expertise anyway." He said

She giggles "Oh? I'm surprised Rin, you think you can stop my Hercules with a no-name servant? Are you serious about that?"

Rin is struggling for words "Archer, I'm..."

"By the way, Rin..." he said cooly "It's okay to buy time but, you wouldn't mind if I killed him, right?" His signature smirks on his face.

Her eyes widen "Archer..." Her eyes become shadowed "It's fine, if you want to kill him, you don't need my permission..."

"I see, then I'll try not to disappoint you."

Illya frowns deeply "Tsk! You think you're funny? Berserker! Tear him to pieces!" He roars, shaking the ground with his stomping feet.

"Now! Let's go!" Rin starts to run. Shirou doesn't move.

"Shirou?!"

Shirou clenches his fists, he is about to speak.

"You better not regret your decision." The illusion of Unlimited Blade Works appears "I burned my dream, on the verge of death I thought about saving everyone. Even now, that did not change, no I should say it cannot be changed. It's okay now, I know now you won't follow the same path as me, but if you ever do, I will expect to see you in the red deserted plain in the end. You were given that chance to change when I was not, so don't screw up and don't doubt any decision's you make, and remember, don't forget your purpose for fighting, and accept it. Without power I cannot protect anyone, so I'll at least do it in my dream." He traces his swords **"Fuse the body with the sword, blood with metal, reach out to the furthest height, even I reached my limit, I will not lose interest and continue changing more." **He raises his swords "What you should be visualizing is yourself being the strongest, you don't need any external enemies. The only opponent you have to fight... is your own image." He turns and smiles, his smile is not cynical and forced, it's geniune. "Don't disappoint me, boy..." He throws Bakuya to the ceiling, causing it to crack and break apart, the ceiling falls making a wall of debris separating him from them. "Go, Emiya Shirou, now is not the day for you to die."

"Archer..." Shirou is speechless

"Shirou, please hurry!" Saber grabs his hand and pulls him to the exit.

He runs without looking back, the red back tells him to just go.

* * *

Berserker charges at blinding speeds, he is already upon Archer. He jumps out of the way avoiding the deadly swings, he notices his coat tail rip slightly. He tries to deflect the hit but he's forced back, he completely jumps over a swing from Berserker but he is still slashed on the shoulder. "This is what happens even after completely dodging...?"

"Enough, Berserker! Stop playing and kill him already!" Berserker turns quickly and charges, howling like a mad beast. Archer waits for the right moment and he's speeds through slashing Berserker across the neck, his blades shatter.

She starts to giggle "It's no use Archer! Someone as weak as you can never hurt Berserker!" Archer closes his eyes and retraces his swords. Berserker charges and he's forced to dodge the swings of the superhuman beast, he's forced to move back until a swing comes too fast, he block's with his swords. He's easily overpowered and is launched, slamming into the wall. Blood flows from a cut on his head. Archer is struggling to move, he feels his body weakening. Berserker charges and once again swings his axe-sword, attempting to end his life. "So that's how it is." Archer hastily creates a three pedal Rho Aias, and deflects Berserkers hit.

"Wh-what?!" Illya exclaims_ "He blocked Berserker's hit?! How is someone like that capable of this...?" _He immediately jumps over the upstairs railing and Berserker also jumps, lifting his massive weapon to cut down Archer. He closes his eyes and his left hand begins to glow, a large bow materializes.** "I am the bone of my sword..." **A sword appears in his right. It's a large spiral shaped sword, with details on the hilt and pommel. It's appearance warps and changes and it becomes long and narrow. **"Caladbolg..."** He aims at the Giant Beast and shoots point-blank. It easily pierced his chest and a large explosion consumes the area in smoke. A great pillar of energy shoots out and breaks thought the ceiling, causing the air to shake from its power.

"That sound just now..." Shirou notices the pillar of light.

"It was most likely... Archer..." Saber said

Rin flinches and grabs her hand tightly "...Let's go! We have to make it out of here no matter what!" She starts to run before Shirou can protest, he wordlessly follows.

The smoke clears and Berserker is seen, a pool of blood quickly forms under him. Caladbolg is lodged deep in his chest, his wound bleeding heavily, he doesn't move for a bit, until like a switch his dim eyes light up and he rips the sword-arrow out. The wound heals immediately.

"Berserker was actually killed? Who exactly is he...? Could he be projecting Noble Phantasms?" Illya is shocked beyond words.

Archer looks calmly at Berserker "That would have instantly killed any normal servant." Berserker roars and begins to charge again, Archer jumps up through the hole in the celling. Illya immediately yells.

"Berserker, after him!"

Archer stand on the railing waiting calmly, until he hears the loud growling of Berserker, he jumps out of his range and he is still cut. "You move pretty well for having such a huge body." Berserker jumps over the railing but his size and weight causes him to fall through the weakened roof, immobilizing him for a bit. **"Steel is my body and Fire is my blood..." **He traces his swords and throws them in the air. **"I have created over a thousand blades..." **He creates more and they spin through the air, they all connect and slam into Berserker causing a large explosion. He creates two more and starts to run** "Unknown to death... Nor known to life..." **He brings his hands behind his back, he starts to fill them with mana, past their limit. They begin to grow, like a pair of wings. He begins to chant.

"Spirit and technique, flawless and firm, Our strength rips the mountains, Our swords split the water, Our names reach the imperial villa, The two of us cannot hold heavens together—Two great men, sharing a life."

**"Crane Wing Three Realm!"**

He brings the broken, unstable swords down on Berserker. They easily slash through his body and he roars in pain. Archer's eyes widen and he jumps back as an explosion occurs. He can't feel his left arm "There goes my arm, I guess..." The wounds instantly heal on Berserker and he slowly brings his body out of the hole "I see... the strongest servant indeed..." Berserker charges again and his axe-sword slams into Archer, he is shot straight to the wall and he grunts in pain. His mind flashes to the red haired boy. He smiles grimly and walks up to Berserker, he once again brings his sword down breaking the roof and Archer falls through, his body lifelessly hits the ground.

Rin's command seal lights up, she grabs her hand painfully.

"Tohsaka?" Shirou asks worryingly

"Archer is..." Saber said quietly

"No... he's... still trying hard..." She grits her teeth and keeps running.

Illya walks down the stairs "Well, maybe you regret this a little now?" She has a devilish smile on her face.

Archers mind flashes to Rin and the others "...I thought I had freed myself from all that..."

"He's alive?" She looks up "No way... Berserker! Stop playing around, there's something wrong with his head! Kill him now before you're killed!" Berserker jumps down, he prepares to attack.

Archer struggles to get up "You're still so merciless, Illya..." She stops moving.

"Illya?" She mumbles he gets up and his cocky smirk is still on his face. "Even though it won't change the fact I will lose, I'll make it harder for you to end this, Berserker. At least go easy on me, but take two more of these blades with you." He traces his swords and throws Bakuya straight into the only light source, the area is blanketed in darkness. Illya gasps in surprise "Where... I can't sense him, did he escape?" Berserker an unmoving statue also looks around. Suddenly the light shines from the hole in the ceiling. It slowly moves until it lands on Archer's body. He is kneeling, his right arm crossed against his chest. Illya smiles "It seems the lunar goddess's didn't bless you! Berserker!" He bellows a roar and charges.

**"Have withstood pain to create many weapons..." **Berserker is getting closer.

**"Yet those hands will never hold anything..." **Berserker raises his weapon.

**"So as I pray... Unlimited Blade Works!" **He gives a proud smile.

Just as Berserker was about to strike him down, the ring of fire consumes Berserker and Illya, a great light flashes and she shuts her eyes, closing them from the light. She opens her eyes and gasps from what she sees.

"This is... a **Reality Marble**..." Berserker turns to the smiling Archer. He grabs a nameless swords and lifts it to the air. "As you can see you're surrounded by an unlimited amount of blades, the finest of blades." He point his sword "Throw away your fear and take me out!" Berserker howls and runs, his weapon raised, ready to face against the limitless number of swords. Archer also runs, he yells a battle cry and their blades clash.

Rin stops suddenly, her hand glows one more time then her command seal fades away.

"Tohsaka..." Shirou said

"...Keep going." Her voice is quiet, Shirou hears the ragged breathing of Saber, he hears her cry out and fall.

"Please... Just leave me..." Saber said.

"Saber! Enough of this!" He doesn't wait for a reply, he picks her up and notices how light she is, he does his best to ignore those thoughts.

Her face flushes "Shirou! Put me down! I won't burden you because of my injuries!" She struggles in his arms, she tries to push Shirou away but shes too weak right now.

"No, we promised to help each other out, and something as simple as this is the least I can do." He waited for any protest from Saber but got none. He kept running forward until they were once again behind Rin, she speaks up.

"Saber will only slow us down in that condition, we nees to replenish her prana as soon as possible. I know a place we can rest." They follow her to the destination.

Archer's feels his presence fading, he knows he's going to die, yet he still has a smile on his face _"Not bad..."_ he looks to the sky and he fades away from existance. Illya slowly walks down the steps and kicks Archer's remaining sword and it fades away as well. She looks up at Berserker's condition. Multiple swords are sticking out of his body he has holes all over his body, there is no place where he is not wounded. He has massive chunks of flesh destroyed from his body, his legs are almost melted and one of his arms are barely hanging from his elbow, his skin is horribly burned and a part of his face is destroyed. _"I can't believe this. What is he?! Defeating Berserker six times, something like that is unheard of! The strongest servant in the Holy Grail War has been mortally wounded to the brink of almost six times!" _

She looks at the empty space left by Archer_ "Not only that... I also watched him unleash his entire strength, though I should have I didn't relies his true identity until the bitter end... Shirou, will you really turn into him...?" _Her mind flashes to red haired boy, then to the white haired man. She shakes her head, clearing that out of her mind she looks at Berserker, he doesn't move. It's only natural, it's a corpse, no matter how one looks at it.

"Berserker! Care to explain? You weren't going easy on him, were you?!"

**"..."** He only stays silent, watching his master. If he was summoned as a normal servant he would have grieved that this battle "deserved better". If he had not been maddened he would have matched Archer's swords to his hearts content.

"Feh, alright, Berserker let's go! I won't let them make a fool of us anymore!" She begins to move but Berserker stays put.

**"..." **

"Why the frustration? The deadly wounds you received shouldn't cause you pain anymore. Besides, after these six attempts you did a good job, it's enough for now." His wounds begin to heal rapidly and he moves.

"The hunt begins now! Onii-chan will finally learn the pain of losing someone important to him!" She slowly walks out of her ruined home.

Shirou, Rin and Saber all walk and finally reach an abandoned house.

"...Archer was the one who found this place, at least it's clean. You can put Saber on that bed, I need to get some equipment for the procedure." She leaves to another room.

"Shirou, you should get some rest too..." He looks down to Saber, he wipes some sweat off her face "I'm fine, just rest for now, Tohsaka will figure this out." She slowly closes her eyes and begins her restless sleep. Shirou frowns _"Saber... Even if it would be impossible to save you and get out of this forest in time, surely... This place just seems too good to be true, just what am I supposed to do, Tohsaka...?"_

Rin is in the other room and is searching through a small duffle bag she's brought. She is making sure she has everything prepared until she notices a certain item. She pulls out her ruby necklace. "Archer..."

(Flashback Start.)

_"Rin, it's time for me to give this back to you." _He hand her the red pendant.

She's surprised _"This... is my pendant?" _

Archer looks away_ "Lancer supposedly discovered it by the school grounds that night. You may have overlooked it. Seriously, something seems amiss with you lately. Since you're still new to the magic world, don't go overboard and don't risk it." _He turns and smiles_ "However... as a person you're more likable, I'm glad to have to as my master, Rin..."_

(Flashback End.)

Rin clenches her fists_ "Even if your gone now, why does it feel like you're still watching over me...?" _She looks to the sky, she leaves and goes to Shirou and Saber.

"So what do we do now, Tohsaka?" Shirou asks

"Right now we have to defeat Berserker, and help Saber recover." She said

"I see..."

"Are you prepared?" Rin said

"Yes, even if you already said it I already knew it."

"Ok, so let me explain. The reason that Saber's mana didn't replenish is because Emiya's and her connection is incomplete. So now you need to replenish her, if you manage to do that then she should be able to use her abilities like before."

"But wait, Have you forgotten Tohsaka? I can't do any magical replenishment abilities and stuff like that...?"

Her face reddens "There is a way... I explained this to you yesterday, there's one other way to share magic, but this is the last thing I thought we would do... It's called a Tantric Ritual, you see Saber and you not only have a spiritually connected path but also a physical path. So there's no need to use difficult magic to replenish her reserves. So all you have to do is give her energy, It also doesn't matter where you give Saber her treatment."

Shirou tilts his head in confusion "Eh...? But Tohsaka I don't know any of that stuff... you said a master can gives energy but how do I do that?" She looks at Shirou in surprise, as if he's supposed to already know. She stares for a minutes and says it as simply as possible.

"Sleep with her. Saber's a girl fortunately, so it should be easy, right?" She said lightly.

"...What?" Shirou's brain shuts down for a moment._ "Sleep with her... that, um... means_..."

"WHA-WHAAAAAAAT?! H-h-h-h-hold on, w-w-w-why are we going this way all of a sudden?!" His face burns and he backpedals against a wall.

"This is the only way." She said bluntly "With that fractured bond of yours, this will at least give Saber a boost in the morning." A faint blush across her face.

"B-but..." He said weakly, he's starting to become light-headed.

"S-Shirou..." Saber's voice stop's him cold. He turns to Saber, she is sitting up with a large blush on her face. "I-it's okay..." She looks away in embarrassment.

"..." His mind is going overdrive _"She said its fine, which means..." _He doesn't have anymore time to think when Rin grabs his hand and drags him to the bed, she then pushes him on top of Saber, there bodies touching each other. He remembers a similar night with Sakura. A feeling of guilt crosses his heart_ "I can't do this to her, but... Saber will disappear if I don't..." _Rin then does something he didn't predict at all, she grabs him and kisses him!

"Mmph?!" His breath goes away, he can't think straight, he feels how soft Rin's lips are, they taste sweet. A small trail of saliva leaves their lips. "There's no time!" She said breathlessly "We don't know when Illyasviel will barge through that door, so I'm speeding up the process..." She turns to Saber "It seems I must help you as well, Saber..." Rin positions herself on Saber.

"Wha...! Rin, what are you doing?!" Saber sounds confused.

"Relax, it seems you aren't used to this, so I'm helping you both..." Her hand lower to a certain area on Saber, she starts to caress her, slowly moving up and down across it. Saber's moans echo across the empty room. It only becomes louder the faster Rin goes. She starts to kiss her, their tongues intertwining, a trail of saliva escapes their mouths. She unbuttons Saber's shirt and turns to Shirou "I think she's ready, Emiya-kun..." He gulps and slowly gets up and he unbuttons his pants, he hears Rin gasp, he turns to a shocked and very red faced Rin, "Tohsaka...? is something wrong?" She looks at Shirou for a moment then turns away "N-nothing's wrong... It's just that you're... alot bigger than I expected..." She mumbles that last part. Shirou starts to blush, was that a compliment? She grabs Shirou and guides him to Saber, she seems to be in a daze, probably from what Rin did...

"Sh-shirou...?" She seems to snap out of her daze and notices what he's about to do. "Sorry Saber, this might hurt a bit..." He enters her, the pleasure causing him to buckle, she crys out in pain "Saber! Are you okay?!" She has tears coming out of her eyes "I-I'm fine... It just surprised me is all... you can continue, Shirou..." He nods and begins to move, her moans become louder and louder, he grabs her breasts, he kisses her neck, he starts to rub her all over. He's just letting his body moving on it's own. "S-shirou, I'm about to... Ah!" She yell's out and she tightens around him, he can't hold out any longer and releases into her. She collapses to the bed, exhausted from the ordeal. Shirou is still far from that, he hears Rin get up "She should be fine now, so you should get some rest, Emiya-kun..." She begins to leave the bed, but a hand grabs her arm "Shirou...?" He pulls her to the bed "H-hey! What do you think you're doing?!" He doesn't answer and kisses her, he grabs her arms and pins them, she's lost all her energy from that kiss. She slowly kisses back. Shirou soon enough starts to massage her body, feeling up and down her arms, her waist, her legs. His hand hand slowly going to her area, he does the same thing she did moments ago. Her crys of pleasure echo louder across the empty room, "S-Shirou, hurry..." He looks at her and nods slightly. He starts to undress her clothes and she blushes in embarrassment, but he still continues. He positions himself and enters her, she crys out in pain and he pauses so she can get used to it, she starts to tear up but she nods to him. He begins to move, she wraps her legs around his waist and he starts to go faster and faster, he begins to kiss her neck, he nibbles her ear and he once again let's his body move on it's own. She starts to moan louder, until she can't hold out "Shirou!" She yells out and tightens around him. He once again releases and they both collapse. He feels Rin snuggle closer to his body and Saber as well, his eyes slowly close and he's fallen asleep.

* * *

The sun shines through the window and he opens his eyes to see the naked body's of Rin and Saber clinging onto each of his arms. Rin has crossed one of her legs over his. His face goes atomic, he can't move or else he'll disturb their sleep and worse he'll have to face the wrath of Rin. So he lays their waiting. He feels even guiltier then before, he only did it with Saber to heal her but he also did it with Rin... why? He looks at her sleeping form, and a similar feeling stirs in his chest. He feels Saber begin to stir, she blinks the sleep out of her eyes "Shirou, you are awake?" She sound better.

"Ah! Saber you look much better!" Her skin has lost it's pale quality, and her voice is no longer weak and distant but strong and close. He feels Rin begin to stir as well, she sits up and rubs her eyes, not noticing the position she's in. She finally does one final stretch and looks to her right.

"..." Her brain seems to stop working for a moment, she then immediately grabs the pillow and covers her body. Her face blushes darkly and she whacked Shirou directly on his head, hard.

"Ow! What was that for?!" She readies her fist for another strike.

"You IDIOT! You were only supposed to do it with Saber!" Shirou's brain vividly remembers last night.

"Um..." He doesn't know what to say. "...Sorry? I guess I went a little overboard..." She suddenly gains a demonic aura, her eyes glow red. He suddenly wants to fight a hundred Berserkers than stay here.

"Why you...!" Her body shakes in anger, she's about to attack when Saber speaks up.

"Now Rin, Shirou was... In the moment, so to speak... and besides, it didn't seem like you didn't enjoy it...?" Saber said knowingly. Huh, where did this come from? Rin's face starts to glow.

"W-w-w-what are you talking about?!" She gets up and runs to the other room.

"...I think we should get dressed now."

"Yes."

Everyone gets dressed, and they prepare to discuss there next plan of action.

Rin begins "Okay, we can't match Berserker with normal tactics, and especially finding out about his multiple lives is troubling. What we need to do is execute a surprise attack and attack him fast and don't let him counterattack. Since Illyasviel can sense your and Saber's presence, it will be easy for me since I can hide mine."

"...Tohsaka, don't tell me you're doing the counterattack?"

"Of course, she will be focused on you the most, leave it to me to hit Berserkers from behind."

"But, someone like Berserker won't be off guard just like that..."

"Yes, that's why Saber will create an opening. How much have you recovered?"

"Very well, normal battle will be fine for me, but I should avoid using my Noble Phantasm, even with the large amount of energy Shirou gave me, if I use it I will be completely defenseless against Berserker."

"It's fine, that's more than enough while you and Emiya-kun fight Berserker, I'll be hiding. Illyasviel will probably think I've ran away or something."

"There is still one objection, I can't have Shirou fighting someone like Berserker, even with his abilities, he can't stand up to his attacks." Saber said

"I'm not saying for Shirou to go hand-to-hand with Berserker I'm telling him to support you in the back."

"But Rin, Shirou cannot do something like that. He can't do any black magic and his magic forces him to get close to the enemy." She has a troubled face.

"Don't worry, I think I have a solution."

"Eh?" They turn around, was what he said really that surprising?

"Trace On." He closes his eyes and his left hand begins to glow, the light slowly warps and moves until it finishes, the light fades away. He opens his eyes to see the bow of Archer, it's not one hundred percent perfect, but it's close. Rin's eyes widen slightly, for a single second she thought she saw Archer, his auburn hair changes to white, his brown eyes become gray, and his skin became tan, but as fast as it came it went.

"Shirou, that's..."

"...Well at least you have a way to attack now. Going back to the main topic. I'll have you two attacking Berserker and I'll go on top of a tree beforehand, so when Saber creates an opening, I'll attack him with my spare jewels, it's as simple as that, do you agree?" She asks.

"Yes, it's a fine plan." Saber said

"Now, we have to find someplace where I can hide and where it'll be easy for Shirou to support Saber. Let's find a good spot before Ilyasviel gets here." They go outside, but Saber trips over some rubble.

"!" She's about to fall, until Shirou grabs her hand.

"Hey, you got to be careful. There's things scattered everywhere..." She doesn't respond "Saber?" Her face is burning "Is something wrong?"

"...No, it's not that... but, you're holding my hand..." She blushes even more.

"Oh..." He blushes too, he remembers Saber's sensation last night and he pulls away quickly.

"..."

"..." They can't talk, they have nothing to say.

"L-lets go outside I'm sure Rin is waiting for us..."

"T-that's right, let's hurry Shirou..." They move with an awkward silence.

They all soon reach an open area in the woods.

"Is this area good, Tohsaka?"

"Several points are good, but I'm not so sure about it being so open. There aren't any escape routes for you or Saber. Let's keep looking." Saber is looking in the distance.

"Saber what are you doing? If we don't hurry Illya will-" the air becomes heavy and he feels a chill go down his spine.

"Fu, fu found you~." Her voice echo's in the dense forest. They see a speeding black mass getting closer and closer.

Rin sweats slightly "Crap! She's already here?! This is bad, this place is too open... with the speed their going we don't even have two minutes!"

"It's fine, let's fight here, Tohsaka." He said calmly

"Why are you so relaxed?! I'm telling you this place is too open, Saber can't block all of Berserkers hits and you'll be in range no matter how far you are!"

"I told you it's fine, were all in danger now, and besides there's no escape now, right?"

"That's true... but..."

"Its fine with you too, right Saber? We will fight Berserker here." She nods quietly.

Rin knows she can't argue any longer "F-fine! I'll be pissed if you die!" She runs off into the fog.

Shirou looks at Saber "Are you ready?"

She nods "Yes, but please be careful and stay back. I won't let Berserker near you." The fog is pushed away by a great force, and the Giant and white haired girl enter the area.

"I'm surprised, I thought you would keep running Onii-chan... hmm? Where's Rin? Is she dead? Or did she abandon you like I said before? It doesn't matter anyway, this is the Einzbern's bounded field, so I'll find her eventually." She looks at Saber "Oh, it seems your servant recovered, I see, that's why you stopped running. He he, it's cute thinking you can win just because of that, but Shirou is going to die here." Her laughter echo's through the forest. "Geez, this got so boring since you got so quiet, are you afraid of dying? You know if you beg for you're lives now I might forgive you."

"..."

"Still staying silent? Fine, if you won't talk then I guess it's time to end this... Unless you still consider my offer?" Her voice sounds slightly hopeful, wanting to hear those faithful words.

"No, I'm sorry Illya, but I'm still Saber's master and I will continue being her master and defeat Berserker." The air freezes.

"I see... then I'll really have to kill you..." Her entire body glows, an intricate pattern appears, it's a command seal, a huge one.

She speaks in a dead voice "Go mad, Hercules." The already oppressive aura is doubled no tripled, and as an answer he roars, the earth shakes from the volume, its as if he's actually gone completely insane, his strength increases as his body deforms and swells with power.

"Impossible! You were just taking away his reasoning? Berserker was never fighting at full strength?!" Saber's voice is uneasy.

Illya smiles "Go! Berserker, kill anything that's near you!" He roars it once again shakes the earth and he jumps, his mass already causing him to fall straight to Shirou and Saber.

"Saber!" She runs to where Berserker will land, she raises her sword, the ground trembles as if stopping a meteor Saber attacks Berserker. A huge shockwave commences, Berserkers swings cut the air in two, the downward swings are like waterfalls, if Saber gets hit by that she will be fatally injured. Saber deflects each hit without faltering, she deflects them with all her strength, if she doesn't she will be cut in half. She continues relentlessly attacking with all her might. But... It's still to different, their speed, their range and especially their strength are still too damn different. All she can do is offset the colossal strikes. They strike at speed no man can follow, Saber's losing, her armor is chipping away, but she still continues onward, bravely meeting his strikes blow for blow. But with every strike she's reaching her limit, she's starting to breath wildly, her movements are starting to slow, she can't even attempt to create an opening, sooner or later she will be cut down by Berserker. Shirou looks to the bow in his hand _"I guess it's time, please just hold out a little longer, Saber!" _Shirou lifts his left hand** "I am the bone of my sword..."** His circuits burn with the familiar heat and his hand begins to glow and warp, it finishes and he opens his eyes. It is a pitch-black weapon, with a few small edges coiling around the thin core, spiraling around it and somewhat curving outward. **Hrunting**, the weapon that was used by the great Beowulf to slay Grendel's mother. It will follow the most direct path to its target, and it will continue to pursue the target, even if parried, repulsed, or avoided, as long as the shooter keeps aiming at the target. He notches it into his bow and begins to charge it with power. "Saber, move!" She noticed the built up of power and was ready for anything. As soon as Berserker finished a swing, she jumps back avoiding another powerful strike that horribly scrapes across her armor, Shirou releases the projectile, it becomes a magical bullet that is enveloped in a red light that reaches speeds of Mach 10. Berserker doesn't even notice it pierced his body. He stops moving, but... it didn't kill him, his eyes seem to shine brighter and he roars, ripping it out of his chest with a spray of blood. Shirou's arms drop, he's used all of his prana for that attack, and now he's useless. But it's enough time for Rin to use that opportunity.

"Move, Saber!" She jumps down from the branch, she lifts her hand and throws her jewels.

"Neun, Acht, Sieben...! Stil, schießt Beschießen, Erschie Ssung...!" They all strike Berserker and three great ice shapes spears, having enough energy to destroy a mansion is brought down.

"No! Dodge it, Berserker!" Illya screams, she realized too late how dangerous that attack is. But... He swings his axe-sword destroying three ice blocks, the ice consumes and immobilizes his right arm. But he raises his left arm and grabs Tohsaka's descending body. Her face contorts in pain, from the strength in his arm Berserker could easily crush her, but beside that she has a triumphant smile on her face, "Heh, just as I thought..." she brings out four more gems, they have enough power to kill a servant "Got you!" She releases their power, they slam into Berserker point-blank, destroying his head...But he still hold on, his grip tightens and she yells out in pain_ "How many lives does this guy have?!" _Illya begins to laugh "I underestimated you Rin, killing Berserker even once is something remarkable, but it doesn't matter, you can crush her if you want, Berserker."

"Ahh—kua!" She starts to scream, his giant fingers dig into her stomach. "Let her go!" Shirou releases the 'shroud' and traces his twin swords, he swings with all his might on Berserkers arm, it only leaves a small scratch, if he was a normal servant that would have cut their arm off. He swings his frozen sword too fast for Shirou to dodge, he is sent flying. He feels things break in his body "Guh!" But he once again moves his body, doing everything he can to distract Berserker. He traces nameless sword after sword swinging and slashing at his body, and each one shatter against his skin. Berserker stops squeezing, deciding to kill this nuisance before killing the girl. As he's swinging and tracing his mind goes to that one sword, it's blurry and out of his reach but... it's somehow familiar. His mind lingers on that thought for too long and Berserker once again slams his frozen sword on Shirou, sending him to the ground.

"Shirou!" She looks too her invisible sword, she knows the outcome yet she readies to use the holy sword. The wind starts to pick up again, and a golden light escapes her hands. "Don't you dare, Saber!" His tone making her falter slightly "This is the only way, Shirou! I'm sorry but it has to be done." Shirou is still on the ground getting ready to move "No! We'll find another way!" He doesn't notice Berserker kick his side, he felt his ribs cave in. He's sent flying across the land "Gah!" His vision starts to fade.

"Shirou!... I'm sorry but it must be done!" She raises her holy sword, it starts to fill with prana, and the wind starts to pick up faster.

"No! Saber if you do that...!" Rin said

Illya giggles "Are you sure about using that? With your already dwindling magic reserves, do you really think you can defeat Berserker with one go?"

Saber grits her teeth** "EX..." **She raises her sword.

Meanwhile Shirou is fading in and out of consciousness, but with every beat of his heart that sword appears, he floods his overused circuits with prana and the sword appearance is fully revealed _"If only I could reach it...!" _He brings out his hand, but is only met with painful resistance "Gahhhhh!" He's forced back_ "If I had that sword then I could...!" _He's interrupted "No. You are wrong, Emiya Shirou." Shirou looks behind him and the familiar red knight is there. "Archer?!" He speaks once more "Your battle is not in the real world. What you must do now is conquer the enemy in your imagination." He smirks "I thought you could keep up with me...?" He fades away, leaving Shirou with the shining sword. "I understand now... My job is not meant to fight, but that doesn't mean I won't try! I'll create the strongest projection! An invincible sword that will never break, the most powerful weapon!" He forces himself to go forward ignoring the pain, and he grasps the legendary sword.

"Gah—ah!" Rin is still in his grasp, she's screaming in pain, she feels her ribs crack.

"Rin!" She looks at Shirou's fallen body_ "I'm sorry, Shirou..." _Her eyes burn with determination **"CALIBU-"**

"Saber!" Berserker notices too late and Shirou slices his arm off, Rin falls to the ground. The blade shatters like glass.

"Wha...?!" Illya yells

"Thats my...!" Saber yells.

"Damn, the projection was not good enough, It is supposed to be an invincible sword, a sword that would never break..." He looks at Berserker "But I need time..." Shirou moves his arms into the familiar stance, he charges at the Giant, dodging his swings and getting close for a specific move, Shirou twists his waist, and positions his right arm back **_"Eight Postures of the Buddha Guards!"_ **He brings his right hand forward, it digs into Berserkers stomach and he's sent flying back, a great burst of air follows from that punch, but to someone like that beast it would do little to no damage. But the seconds it gives would be enough. His right hand is shattered, the elbow is bent at an awkward angle. "TRACE ON!"**  
**

Judging the concept of creation.

Hypothesizing the basic structure.

Duplicating the composition material.

Imitating the skill of its making.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.

Reproducing the accumulated years.

Excelling every manufacturing process.

Surpass it all to create the ultimate weapon!

***CRACK***

"..." Ah...? Again? Everything is becoming hazy, faces are starting to be impossible to remember, but he pushes on. In his hand it forms, the golden light shines bright. Berserker roars, he must know Shirou is a bigger threat. He charges and swings his massive weapon, Shirou can't even remember blocking with it, he feels his arm crack from the pressure. He can't block them all, one swing gets through and he's sent flying back. He grabs his broken arm and with a sickening crack he sets it back to normal. He feels his organs are destroyed but they are slowly healing. He raises his sword, "Let's go, Berserker!" He roars and charges, his stomps shake the earth. They meet each strike blow for blow, Shirou doesn't have the amazing magical capabilities of Saber, so he has to use strength and strength alone. Berserker swings his sword down with immeasurable strength, Shirou raises his sword and blocks the hit, he feels his body bend and shake from the power, the ground cracks and breaks apart.

"No way..." Who said that? Was it the black haired girl? With a mighty roar he pushes Berserker back. Shirou charges and starts to fill the sword with prana and it begins to glows, he swings with all his might. Berserker also swings but his axe-sword is cut clean through, the golden sword embeds itself deeply into his chest and he is engulfed from the inside-out. Everything becomes quiet, until a deep voice speaks.

**"So that's your sword, Saber." **The unbeatable giant is unmoving, he stares down at the knight and the boy who defeated him.

"Yes, that is Caliburn, the sword which chose me to be the king, after I pulled it out of the stone, but..."

**"It's not the real one, an illusion that this man created..." **His voice booms when he speaks, his chest splits open he's crumbling away like sand.

Saber silently nods.

**"...But even so, it was a formidable illusion. Having the power to destroy**** this body seven times in a single blow." **He puts no emotion into his dying words. He looks to the little girl one last time and slowly starts to fade away, as he's fading he says one last thing **"Strange... you and that man are so similar..."** His existence disperses into the air.

Shirou falls to the ground and vomits blood, his lungs aren't working and his heart is beating slower and slower.

"Shirou!" She supports him, but even she doesn't have any energy to spare.

"Sa...ber?" He feels his ribs snap back into place and his breathing calms a bit.

"Shirou, you need to rest now, using projection magic to that high of a degree is something to not shrug off!"

"It can wait... I have someone to talk to first..." Shirou starts to limp toward Illya, she looks at the spot where Berserker once stood.

Saber notices and starts to move. "Illyasviel!…Good. I do not know your intentions, but we would not wish the trouble of chasing you. Accept your-" Shirou grabs her arm "No Saber! Don't hurt her, with Berserker gone, she's..." He limps closer and hears her mumbling "No way, Did you die, Berserker...? She sounds lost, she seems to finally notice him and she yells, she falls to the ground and attempts to move back "Stay away!" Shirou keeps moving until he's in front of her, he kneels and lifts his hand. She closes her eyes and waits for her death, but all she feels is a warm hand on her head. She opens her eyes to a smiling face "Are you okay, Illya?" Her eyes widen, until like a switch she falls to the ground and passes out.

Rin runs up and she stands on the side, "Emiya-kun..."

"You're okay...Rin?" That name was hard to remember for some reason. "I'm glad you're safe..." He looks to both of them.

"Let's go home." He picks up the white haired girl and they slowly leave the forest.

**Authors Notes:**

**Hello again! Sorry for the very long wait but I had a lot of stuff to do this week, and I only had small amounts of time to write this. Anyway I am very surprised over 90 favorites and over a 100 followers I can't believe it! I want to thank all that have stayed with me and I hope you're enjoying it. On a side note this is going to sound more familiar to the visual novel and I will probably use it for almost everything from now on. One reason is the manga is pretty much finished and hasn't updated for a while, but I might go back to it from time to time. The second reason is that the Anime doesn't really do justice for some of the fight scenes, but I might go back to it as well. Also if you haven't guessed by now, I'm following the Fate Route and mixing in Unlimited Blade Works Route and Heavens Feel Route. The Caster and Kuzuki arc is next and sorry if some of you are annoyed by how this is going but don't worry, the next chapter will have certain... twists in it. Again, sorry for the long wait and I will try to write faster. So I'll see you in the next chapter, Bye!**

**P.S I tried to fix the mistakes I made as much as I could. Due to some of the review's people left, so tell me if it's better or not. I also want to ask if I did the scene with Rin and Saber right, so tell me if it sounded good.**

**P.S.S Some of you pointed it out that this I confused the amount of lives Berserker had, which I didn't. Let me start from the beginning, when Shirou used the incomplete version of 9 lives blade works, he killed 3 of his lives, then later Archer with his combined attack killed Berserker 6 times. Later Rin managed to kill him once. Also when Shirou used Hrunting he didn't kill him with it, if you didn't read carefully. So in total he was killed 10 times. When Shirou uses Caliburn to destroy Berserkers 2 remaining lives, Berserker just commented that the sword has the power to destroy 7 of his lives, if he had any left. Sorry if I made it sound confusing, but I hope this clears things up.**


	9. Chapter 9: Everything Falls Apart

"Normal Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

Shirou wakes up, The light shines through the window and hits his face. He groans slightly and rubs his face, his mind instantly remembers everything. He remembers escaping from Illya's forest and collapsing as soon as he got home. He remembers Tohsaka going to her room, she said her stomach and sides hurt so she needed to recover. He also remembered carrying something heavy with his strained muscles, causing him to collapse in the first place. Since Saber was the least hurt, she watched over the house, letting Shirou and Rin sleep.

"So I slept half the day, huh?" he mused quietly. He feels a little sore but besides that he feels fine. He hears something shift behind him. He turns to see a fully dressed Saber, who's sitting seiza style next to his futon "Good morning, Shirou." She's smiling but he sees a troubled look on her face.

"Saber? What's wrong?" She looks at him and a small frown appears. "No, nothing's wrong... I had a bad dream is all, please don't concern yourself. Besides that Shirou, It's almost time to get up." She said quietly and leaves the room.

He tilts his head in confusion _"She's acting strange... oh well, I guess I'll make breakfast now..." _He gets up and goes to the kitchen.

While he's in the kitchen he hears Saber speak up. "Shirou, we are the only ones awake right now, should we wake Rin?" She asks calmly.

"No let her sleep, it was a hard day yesterday, and she was pushed past her limit so she can sleep as long as she wants. Besides their food will be ready and on the table." Shirou said

She nods "I see, then it would be good to prepare soon." He nods and turns back to the kitchen. He begins to mix ingredient after ingredient and a heavenly aroma soon fills the air. He hears Saber speak in the living room.

"You are awake, Rin?" A grumbled noise is the only response, soon enough a shuffling Rin enters the kitchen "...Morning, let me have some milk..." that's the first thing she said, she grabs the carton and is about to chug from it but she pauses and gets a cup to drink from. She's in the same condition as before, her clothes are haphazardly put on, her hair is very messy and she has visible bags under her eyes, she seems unhappy.

She rubs her head "Geez, I got a headache from sleeping too much..." She finally notices the food Shirou prepared "Huh, you seemed to put a lot of effort for breakfast." Her bad mood seems to go away for now. "Prepare some for me too." She leaves to the living room, she sits down and seems to visibly relax.

"You seem to be getting lazy, Rin..." She doesn't seem to care "Of course, with Berserker gone all that's left is Caster, Lancer and Assassin. They are nothing compared to Berserker and with your current condition you could defeat them."

Saber doesn't seem convinced "I'm not so sure... Even if we found out Lancer's Noble Phantasm, his master is still a mystery, Assassin is also a threat that cannot be taken out by normal attacks, and most if not all of Caster's abilities are still hidden."

Rin still seems confident "It doesn't matter, a normal hero pales in comparison to the legendary **King Arthur**, the only thing holding you back was your limited prana supply, but now we don't have to worry about that. No servant can or ever will be able to match you now, Saber." Saber doesn't speak and narrows her eyes. Shirou doesn't notice until he slowly backtracks her words.

"Rin, you knew her true identity?" Shirou said.

She turns to Shirou "Vaguely, I only had a hunch. There were signs but I couldn't put them together, yesterday confirmed it. Only one servant is able to possess such a holy sword." She smirks "Also you yelling out the name of your sword didn't help hide it's identity neither." Saber's face reddens slightly. Rin continues "I'm surprised though, that the legendary King Arthur is a girl, I would deny it completely, but living proof is in the same room as me, so all I can do is believe it. Besides, legends are usually altered, right? I don't think the people would react very well to their king being a girl in the medieval times, so of course she had to pose as a man." Shirou scratches his head _"Man, Tohsaka is really smart..." _

"..." Saber doesn't speak and only seems to agree with Rin's opinion. But suddenly the calm atmosphere suddenly becomes tense, he notices Saber turn to him with a very serious face, a face he's only seen when she's in battle. "I've been meaning to ask Shirou, given our circumstances before I never got a chance to ask..." She immediately stand up "...why did you protect, Rider?" she glares at him. His heart skips a beat _"Oh no..." _He can't make up an excuse now, she'll see right through it. "Um..." he's interrupted "I've been meaning to ask you this as well Emiya, you lied about this before so tell me the real reason, the truth!" She glares as well. Shirou slowly ever so slowly attempts to move back but feels a rise of magical energy, it's not visible but under the table Rin has a magical shot ready to use on him._  
_

"Well... you see... " he attempts to stall for time, he begins to pale and sweat slightly.

They begin to get impatient.

"Shirou, The truth! Now!" She actually materialized her sword!

"Emiya, you better not lie or else!" Rin's arms begin to glow.

"What's with all the noise...?" A voice is heard, they all turn to see a sleepy Illya, cutely rubbing her eyes, If he wasn't so scared right now he'd be crying tears of joy.

"Illyasviel...!" Saber said, Shirou gets up and attempts to steer the conversation somewhere else and the two very scary girls glare even harder at him. He's beginning to sweat bullets.

Illya doesn't seem to notice, she grabs the sides of her dress and curtsies "I thank you, Master of Saber. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your concern towards me, you who would take an enemy into you're home." Everyone seems to pause at what she did.

"Eh...?" Shirou is surprised, this is a strange, even for Illya.

But she suddenly smiles "Just kidding! Shirou is my Onii-chan!" She runs and jumps, hugging him around his neck. Saber is surprised and yells out in protest, Rin chokes on the milk she's drinking.

"W-what?! Let go of, Shirou!" She's still mad about before, but for some reason this seems more important.

Illya doesn't seem to care "Hmm... a Servant shouldn't speak their minds." She puts her face really close to his "Hey Shirou! Let's do that thing we did before, it's called a piggy-back ride, right?"

"Um..." He can't finish his reply

"You little...! I have no obligation to listen to you! Now get away from Shirou right now!" She runs up and attempts to grab Illya, but she begins to spin using his neck as a fulcrum, she begins to twirl and twirl somehow avoiding Saber and causing Shirou to lose oxygen.

"Hey...! Wait a minute!" His face is turning blue, all he's seeing is a purple and white blur pass his vision. Rin slowly wipes her mouth with her sleeve. "Hey Shirou..." Everyone pauses "Don't think you're off the hook, we'll continue this later, you are lucky we have more important matters to attend to." Her glare reminds him of his impending doom. He soon feels another pair of eyes hit him, he slowly turns to an angry Saber her eyes doing all the talking. Saber also takes the opportunity to grab Illya and put her on the ground.

"Hey!" They seem to be having a stare down. "Hmmph!" Illya turns her head away. Rin speaks up "As for you Illyasviel, I can't forget nor forgive you for what you did to Archer." Illya's childish personality disappears "What? The servant will always disappear in the end, if you focus on something like that you are not fit to be a master, Rin." Rin tenses and she begins to get angry, sparks fly and another stare down commences.

"Hey! Calm down!" They continue for a few more seconds, then they sharply turn their head away from each other. He waits a few moments then speaks again.

"Look we can figure this out later, for now we should eat, okay?" Everyone's stomachs start to growl slightly and they hurry to the table. "Itadakimasu..." Illya takes her first bite and is amazed at the food "Wow! This is really good!" Everyone else begin to eat, but while they eat Shirou is deep in thought _"Damn it... I can't stall them any longer, and this won't go away, they will ask again__... just what do I do...?" _He suddenly feels someone poke his cheek, he turns to a smiling Illya "What are you thinking about, Shirou?" She seems happy, she's looking around the room in amazed curiosity...she's also ignoring the restless glare from Saber and Rin, he pats her head "Ah, it's nothing to worry about..." She pouts slightly about being pat and goes back to eating. He hears them whispering something and he only caught the last part that Saber said "Yes, you and I both agree Rin, all we need to do is for Shirou to agree as well..." He feels a tug on his sleeve "What do you think they're talking about?" Illya asks innocently, he shrugs "Who knows, but knowing them I'll probably get yelled at..." He droops slightly.

"Emiya-kun..." He hears Rin speak "Saber and I have both agreed to give Illya to the church for protection, since she's an enemy she needs to leave." Illya turns to Shirou with emotionless eyes "What do you think, Shirou...?"

His answer is immediate "No, she stays here. I don't trust that church and the Grail War is still ongoing, I want to keep her safe until it's over." Her smile brightens "Yay! Then I'll stay here with my Onii-Chan!" She grabs him and squeezes his waist tighty.

"Ow, ow! Okay! Stop being so clingy, Illya..." Shirou attempts to pry her off, but once again Saber grabs her and pulls her off.

"Hey! What's the big idea! Do you have a grudge against me or something?" She glares at Saber.

"Of course! What you did to Shirou was unforgivable!" She looks at him "You as well, Shirou! Do you not understand the dangers of keeping someone like Illyasviel from harm? She will only cause you to get hurt or worse!"

"Hey, why do you think that? She's no longer a master and her servants gone, so she can't do much. More importantly, what if she gets attacked when she's alone? Her life would be in danger and the other masters would gain an advantage. I can't have that hanging over my head." He said

"Uh... well, but..." She hesitates, she can't think of anything to reply with, she knows what Shirou said was true so he's not wrong.

Rin speaks up "It doesn't work like that Emiya-kun, you see she's still a Master, and she will stay a Master until she loses her command seals, even if their Servant disappears." She sips her tea.

"So you're saying..." Shirou had a thought to what she meant.

"Yes, I'm saying that an enemy can become a Master once more as long as they can gain a Servant. More importantly they can have as many Servants as they want, as long as they have a command seal, if a Servants Master dies and another master found the 'stray' servant then they can form a contract, but they would need a large amount of magical energy to do so."

"As many as they want, huh...?"

She shakes her head "Let me rephrase that, the maximum amount of Servants a single Master can have is seven, because that's how many the Grail calls on, and besides even an excellent Master can only sustain one servant, and even if they manage to get two or more Servants, their power will have to be shared and they will be considerably weaker, remember the more prana you give to a Servant the closer they get to being at their original strength." Illya skips to Shirou.

"That's right! So watch out for Rin, she's still a master so she can kill you and take Saber or form another contract." Rin glares at Illya

"I could say the same to you as well, Illyasviel..." She becomes quiet and her head hangs slightly.

"...I won't have another Servant, Berserker will be my only Servant..." She murmurers quietly, but a smile quickly forms on her face "...But if Shirou loses, then I'll take Saber and win for him, I won't let anyone else win besides Shirou."

Saber frowns "Stop speaking nonsense, Shirou is my Master and I have no obigation to becoming your servant."

"That's fine, I just want Shirou to win is all." Illya said

She turns to Rin "Rin! Please talk some sense into Shirou!" She's deep in thought

"...I'm sorry, what did you ask?"

"We were getting rid of Illyasviel."

"Oh, I think it's fine for her to stay." Rin said

"W-what?! Are you crazy, Rin?!" Saber yells

Rin goes into a lecturing pose "No, it wouldn't actually make a difference and the risk will still be the same, it wouldn't be any different even if we left her here, left her by herself or gave her to the church. No, it's actually better if the servants come for her. In your current state you could easily defeat any that come here, making us one step closer to finishing the Holy Grail War, that's what you want, right Saber? Unless you think you can't defeat the other servants?"

"Of course I could defeat them, with Shirou as my Master I will not know defeat."

"Do you understand, Saber? Protecting Illya will cause no problems. I'm surprised, the choice Emiya-kun picked may have been the smartest thing he's done." A unnoticed "Hey!" Is said in the background.

"...Very well." Saber reluctantly agrees.

"Well then shall we continue ea-" the door bell rings "That must be Sakura..." He gets up to greet her, and he feels his heart beat a little faster, that is until he saw the saddened look on her face. "Sakura, what's wrong...?" She looks at him and smiles "Good morning, Senpai... It's just that Shinji didn't come home and he's been gone for a while, even the police can't find anything..." He sees tears threatening to fall, she tries to turn away but she feels two strong hands grab her and pull her into a tight hug._ "Crap... did I make the wrong choice...?" _He remembers the absolute fear on Shinji's face when he ended his life, how helpless he was.

"Senpai...?" She looks at him with a very strong blush on her face.

"Don't worry, they'll find him eventually, so stop crying, okay...?" He wipes a lone tear that fell from her face. It hurt him so much to see her like this, he wants to see her happy no matter what.

Her smile returns, and her sadness seems to disappear "Thank you, Senpai..." They enter the kitchen.

"Did you already prepare breakfast?" She asks, she seems a little sad.

"Ah, yeah sorry about that but we could prepare dinner later, if you want?" She smiles.

"Yes, I'd like that." They begin to go to the dining room, but she pauses "I almost forgot Fujimura-sensei will be here soon." He hears the front door slam open.

"SHIROU, I'M HOME!" She immediately runs to the dinning room, and a deadly silence commences "SHIROU! WHERE ARE YOU!" Her hurried footsteps stomp across the floor until she reaches the kitchen "WHO IS THAT GIRL?! WHY IS IT EVERY TIME I COME HERE I FIND ANOTHER GIRL HERE, ARE YOU MAKING A PERVERTED HAREM FOR YOURSELF?!" A shinai appears in her hands, she swings her sword ready to strike his face.

"Hold it." It stops mere millimeters from his face. They turn to see an amused Rin "Let me explain Fujimura-sensei, she's a distant relative of mine and she just came to visit and since my house is still undergoing renovations... please let her stay here for a while."

Fuji-nee sighs "Fine! You're lucky Shirou! You better not do anything to her when I'm gone!" She runs off to the living room.

Shirou sighs "Quite a busy morning, huh?" Sakura giggles.

"Yes, let's join everyone."

Shirou and Sakura enter the dining room to hear Illya talking, she gets up and grabs the sides of her dress and curtsies "Hello my name is Illyasviel Von Einzbern, pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you as well!" Fuji-Nee's anger melts away with the cute girl in front of her "Just call me Fuji-nee from now on!" The meal became somewhat peaceful after that.

* * *

"Remember we'll prepare dinner later so come back then, okay?" Shirou said.

"Yes, I'll see you then, goodbye Senpai." She leaves with a bright smile on her face.

"Bye, Shirou! See you later!" Fuji-nee runs out the door.

"Stay safe!" As soon as they leave he goes to the dojo and prepares for his training from Saber, Illya's there as well.

"Do you really have to train? I wanted to play with you today, but with Saber here it makes it no fun. I don't want to be here it's cold and boring." She grabs his hands "Let's go back to the living room, I'll help you get stronger, okay?" She tries to pull him but he stays put "I'm sorry but training with Saber is a daily routine, I want to become stronger and stronger to protect my loved ones, okay?" He smiles to her warmly, her face blushes slightly.

"...Fine but I'm staying here, I won't leave Shirou and Saber alone together!" She moves to a wall and sits down "What? I'm not going to interrupt or something..."

"Well if you get bored you can always go back to the living room." He grabs a Shinai and looks at Saber "Let's begin Saber... Hey, you okay? You seem to be spacing out a bit, you getting sick?"

"No, I'm fine let us begin..." He throws her the shinai and he traces two shinai's and Illya perks up from the magic, the two silently watch each other and then they begin.

Shirou deflects a strike from Saber and she easily dodges his swings _"She's acting strange..." _He speeds up and swings both his swords at full strength and she blocks, she could have easily sidestepped that. They continue this strange fight for a couple more hours until it's lunch time. "Phew, it's almost lunch time, right? We should stop now." He prepares some sandwiches and they all sit down._  
_

"Wow! Did Shirou make this as well? It's really good!" She said "Thank you, Illya." While they are silently eating Shirou speaks up "By the way Saber, why did you hold back?"

She tenses slightly "I don't know what you're talking about, I did not go easy on you, I always almost go all out to help you get stronger." Shirou's not convinced.

"Really?, because there were many times you could have struck me, dodged or just taken me down and it seemed you avoided them all..." Her face becomes a little red and she silently continues eating, she notices Illya has some food on her face.

"Illyasviel you will get your hair dirty if you eat that fast." She grabs a napkin and wipes her face.

"...Thank you, but why? I thought you didn't like me...?"

"That was before when I still considered you the enemy, but since Shirou has welcomed you into this home and you show no hostility, and..."

"And?" Illya said

"...Your hair is beautiful it would be painful to see it get dirty." Her cold glare goes away and she smiles kindly.

Illya blushes slightly "...Heh, Shirou is still mine even if you say that..."

"Shirou is still my master and I must serve as his shield no matter what." She said calmly, the door to the dojo opens and Rin enters "So you were here, Shirou? Well I need your help, can you come with me?"

"Okay sure, I guess I'll see you two later, I don't know how long I'll be gone so you two can rest." Illya yawns "Alright I'm starting to get tired, I'll see you later, Shirou." She gets up and leaves.

"Are you going now, Shirou?" Saber said

"Yeah, don't worry I'll see you later, okay?"

"...Alright, I'll see you later..." She seems sad and leaves, Shirou scratches his head in confusion and leaves as well.

He soon ends up in Rin's room "So why am I here, Tohsaka?"

"Do you remember when I said "I'll help you if necessary"?" Shirou remembers that night when she said that "Yeah, so you want to help me now?"

"Yes, I'm saying I'll help you with your magic craft, but before I begin, is any of your body broken or in pain?" She asks

"Huh...? What do you mean?"

"I'm asking if any parts are not able to move or is really hard to move?" She glares "Don't lie and tell me if anything is like that."

"No, I'm fine besides the sore muscles and headache I feel fine now."

She looks surprised "That can't be right, you projected a noble phantasm level weapon, something like that should've taken out your arms!"

"I'm telling you I'm fine! I was able to carry Illya home just fine and everything else seemed to heal, so stop worrying so much!"

"Stop lying! Give me your arm, Shirou!" She grabs his left arm and looks at it, her eyes widen in confusion then horror.

"You idiot... YOU IDIOT!" She yells "You were lying! How could you be so calm?! How can you be okay with this?!" He swore he saw tears in her eyes.

"What...?" He's confused but he's mostly panicking_ "Did she figure it out?!"_

"How do you not know?! Almost all of your magical circuits in your left arm... are gone!" His breathing calms _"It must have been the shroud..." _He looks at her calmly "It's fine, my magic is still as good as before, it became a shock to me at first but after some experimenting it still works fine..." As to prove it he traces a nameless sword and presents it to her._  
_

She doesn't seem convinced and takes the sword, she studies it and looks at it at every angle. She does this a couple more times until she sighs and gives it back, he just let's it fade away.

"...Fine, but you better come here often to let me check on it, okay?!" She becomes scary again, and he nods his head.

"Alright then let's begin..." She starts to talk about everything she can to Shirou about magic craft.

After they finished they went back to the living room to discuss their next course of action.

Rin speaks up "What we should do now is deal with Caster up at the temple, from what I gathered she has just finished collecting the souls of the people she's attacked, either she's going to use that energy to begin a head-on strike or she's planning to use it for an unknown personal gain... either she's doing this herself or her master is doing it which I highly doubt..., and even then there are two servants at the temple, the master either made an alliance or he managed to gain two servants..."

"Your wrong about that, Rin." They turn to the white haired girl "The one who summoned Assassin was not a master but Caster herself." Illya said

"That's not possible! A Servant does not have the power to summon another Servant!" Illya starts to twirl "You would be right, but who do you think the best magus is right now?"

"...Caster, of course she is still considered a magus and she probably used her abilities and power to summon Assassin."

"Remember, Caster herself is superior to all other magicians so she doesn't need a master, she killed the Master who summoned her and secluded herself to Ryudo Temple, her master is all but a mere puppet right now, a normal human. She probably got him under a spell right now." Illya said

"How terrible..." Saber said "Killing the master who formed a pact with her, with her own two hands..."

"Of course considering Caster is Medea, the Witch of Betrayal." Illya said grimly

"So that's who we're dealing with...? Even so if Saber fought her, she would undoubtedly win, so all we have to worry most about is Assassin."

"What do we do about Caster's master?" Saber asked "We can't just go to Ryuto Temple and investigate, there are too many people to consider and Assassin is guarding the entrance as well..." Saber said.

"Don't worry about Caster's master, I think I've figured out who he is... come on, I'll explain on the way."

* * *

They soon find their way into a dark alley way and Rin is explaining to them what she found out. "So I believe Kuzuki-sensei is Caster's master. A while back I talked to Ryuudou, he told me that Kuzuki's fiancé moved into the temple, and at the same time the mass comas started... Don't worry, if I'm wrong I'll hit him with a weakened Gandr shot and at the worst he'll be bedridden for a few days... here he comes...!" They move into the shadows and wait until he passes, soon enough they hear footsteps and the familiar green suit shows up and his blank eyes survey the area as he moves, he continues walking until he's past the alley way. Rin immediately gets out and aims her finger, shaping her hand into a gun and aiming it at Kuzuki, the tip of her finger glows with a black ball and she fires, it gets closer and closer to his head until a black cloak deflects it.

"It was blocked?" Rin said, the fallen cloak suddenly warps and surges upward until it transformed into Caster, her purple and black robes flowing in the wind. "Spatial teleportation..." She growled

"I though I warned you Souichirou-sama." Caster said "You should have stayed at the temple in times like this."

"It seems fine." Kuzuki said "The prey took the bait after all." He turns around to face them.

"Indeed." She smiles "You can stop hiding, foolish magicians..." Shirou runs out of the alley and positions himself In front of Saber and Rin. "My how large of a catch we got, the Second Owner, Tohsaka Rin and Saber better known as King Arthur, we've also got her cute master as well."

"Emiya...?" Kuzuki said

"Kuzuki-sensei, are you really being controlled by Caster?" Shirou said

"What do you mean by that, Emiya?" He said

"You're a normal human so you shouldn't know what she's doing, right?"

"...She's collecting mana from the people around the temple, what she's doing is not efficient, it takes too long for her to collect a soul and sooner or later they will die from the strain, I'm not a magus nor do I have any interest in the Holy Grail." He takes off his glasses "I'm just a rotten killer..." Caster sends a magic blast at Shirou, and he's ready to deflect it but Saber appears in front of him and slashes, sending it slamming into one of the buildings.

"Then it would not matter if I killed you now, Master of Caster!" She charges and readies her sword, he just watches calmly with his cold eyes. She soon slashes at him and he easily dodges, curving around the blades deadly swings, he looks on silently, waiting for the right moment. Saber jumps back and then leaps forward pointing her sword to impale him. What he does next surprises everyone, he caught the sword in between his elbow and knee.

"Impossible!" She jumps back and readies her sword.

"Caster used what she called reinforcement on my body, making my fists much stronger than usual..." He brings his fists to his side and waits for Saber to attack. Saber charges again and she swings her sword in a downward strike making him jump back, but he's ready for it. He easily bypasses her defences and attacks with lightning fast strikes, overwhelming her and causing her to stumble back, he then strikes her in the stomach, the damage passing her armor and damaging her bluntly. It causes her to fall to one knee in pain, and he takes the opportunity to strike her in the neck, Saber is able to dodge and his fist smashes into the ground, instantly destroying and cratering the ground.

"You dodged well... or should I say your instincts told you to move rather than your motor skills?" He appears in front of her in an instant and he strikes at her face, she dodges but his other hand comes out and grabs her neck lifting her to the air, he then throws her at speeds that causes her to slam into the wall, knocking her out for the moment.

"Saber!" Shirou saw his movements and his eyes analyzed the history, until he learned what he exactly did. **Snake**, a fighting style that keeps your arms flexible like whips while quickly moving unexpectedly, always moving at right angles in order to keep it from having a solid stance. He keeps his arms and legs locked in a firm stance while waiting for the moment to strike, he then closes in without letting the enemy react, he is able to attack without revealing any of his advancing hits. His arms extend forward and his forearms move even faster so his fingers strike at impossible speeds and strength. They come from the outside to the inside, his arms swing and change directions using his elbows as a fulcrum to strike from impossible directions. Even if he's seen through, he can easily alter the strike, to make a straight hit twist around to pass an opponents guard and strike them, then using "the body of the snake" the elbow, to deal more damage._ "A deadly style, he could be as good, if not better than Kotomine... could I beat it...?"_

"A Masters role doesn't always have to be support, there are always exceptions, I am one of those. A master whose only good at close range attack..." He looks to Caster "Caster, I thought I told you to kill the masters?"_  
_

"Forgive me, but please let me deal Saber the last blow, and you deal with the masters."

"Very well..." He turns his full attention to Rin and Shirou.

Shirou prepares himself to counteract and battle his troublesome style, but Rin appears in front of him and lifts her hand to fire a magical blast, she doesn't notice he's already in front of her and he slams his fist into her chest. "No matter how powerful or superior a magician is, if you do not allow them to cast a spell, they are useless without them..." She falls to the ground and coughs spittle, disabled for the moment. He turns to Shirou and readies himself to defeat him. Shirou calms down, his breathing slows he uses max reinforcement and he moves his arms and stance to the one style he's familiar with, Kuzuki notices this and knows to not underestimate him. Shirou uses the 'moving stance' to appear in front of Kuzuki, at speed that should have surprised him, but all he did was easily sidestep and swing his whip-like arms to 'bite' at Shirou, he knows he can't dodge so he lifts his right arm to take the blows. He feels his arm crack, but he pushes past the pain and fires a deadly straight punch to Kuzuki, he deflects it and strikes at impossible angles, aiming for Shirou's vital spots, and Shirou using short-range and explosive hits to attack head-on, attempting to damage him from the inside rather than the outside. Each of Shirou's hits are either dodged or deflected and Kuzuki's are barely deflected or he's forced to take the damage. Shirou charges and pushes his fist forward, Kuzuki dodges and Shirou's fist slams into the wall, instantly destroying it, he jumps back and they both stare at each other.

"That style... It's Bajiquan, right...?" He said "No... It's too random for Bajiquan, possibly self taught?" He asks, Shirou stays alert, all the while he's secretly analyzing his style, to decipher it and defeat him.

"Something like that..." Shirou said "How about I show you another style I learned..." He moves his two fists to his side, and Kuzuki eyes widen slightly, noticing the stance. "Snake...! I see... you were somehow able to copy my fighting style..." He puts himself into the same stance "However..." He boosts forward, ready to strike him down "...You are 20 years to early to even think to utilize that style...!" The two deadly snakes clash, both arms are whipping around at amazing speeds, each 'biting' at each other, redirecting and moving at impossible angles, using the same deadly style for defense, also using it to predict the next strike. But even if Shirou is stronger, Kuzuki is still faster and more skilled, Shirou dodges a strike and his instincts scream at him to move, he backs off and feels the wind from Kuzuki's strike glide over his head, Shirou whips his arms at angles that would be impossible to block sending them closer and closer to Kuzuki. He easily deflects the 'bites' from Shirou and punches forward, sending him flying 5 meters back. Shirou's arms begin to bleed from the damage but he still pushes on, he puts his bleeding hands back into the deadly stance.

Meanwhile Caster is slowly walking to Saber, she reaches her arm out, until Saber wakes up "Don't think I'm out just yet, Caster!" She gets up and slashes her sword, but Caster easily dodges and glides back to Kuzuki. Saber gets up and moves next to Shirou, she notices his stance "Shirou that's..."

Caster raises her hand "Stop, we don't have to fight." Everyone pauses "Lets stop this barbaric fighting, accept my proposal and let's team up?"

"You think we'll join you after everything you've done?!" Saber yells

"Hear me out, your objective is the Holy Grail, right? Then why must we fight? I know how to call down the Grail without all this senseless killing." She said

"You know how...?" Rin said

"I understand how the Grail works, if you agree to cooperate with us, then I can share the Holy Grail and it's blessing's with you."

"And just how do you plan to activate the Holy Grail?" Rin demanded

She smiles darkly "This city already has the required amount of ley-lines, and all that's needed is a core and a massive amount of mana to sustain the Holy Grail, its quite simple really..."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea..." Rin said "...But, how many human souls would you need to burn to obtain the mana...?" Caster smiles, an evil smile

"All the lives in the city would suffice, but even then it wouldn't be able to keep it working, then again there are too many humans in this modern world so if the problems were to arise, there would be plenty of logs to throw on the fire..." Shirou's mind flashes to the great fire 10 years ago.

"Just one more thing..." Rin said "The core for the Holy Grail, you would need a Magus, right? Even if servants are the ones who can touch the Grail, a master is needed to summon it, and since your master is not a magus, you need a substitute, right? Even if the magus burns from the overwhelming power..."

"My aren't you a smart one...? But, yes that is exactly what I need, you would suffice girl, but I doubt you would agree, luckily I already know of another magus's to use..." She grabs Kuzuki's hand and they teleport away.

"Another magus...?" His eyes widen, and he turns to Rin her eyes showing the same idea "Illya! We need to hurry!" He turns to Saber "Go, Saber!"

She nods "Understood!" She speeds away, he notices Rin is still hurt from Kuzuki, so he picks her up and carries her, he releases the 'shroud' slightly and jumps into the air, steadily catching up to Saber.

"H-hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Her face becomes deep red.

"There's no time to argue! We need to get there as fast as possible, before it's too late!" He runs faster, a feeling of dread going down his chest.

Meanwhile Sakura and Fuji-nee enter the Emiya Household.

"Senpai? Senpai? Are you here?" She looks around the dark house.

"Shirou! Where are you!" They slowly walk into the home, not noticing a black cloak materializing in the shadows.

"The boundary field is gone!" Shirou heads in first, ignoring the protests from Saber and Rin. Everything is too quiet and the familiar feeling of the ancient magic is around the air. The living room is dark, he turns on the lights and sees something that makes his blood run cold. He sees Caster is holding onto Fuji-nee her hand positioned to kill her in a moments notice, he also sees Illya is being held in her other hand, unconscious and limp, but the thing that made him so angry, that makes his vision see red is a helpless Sakura, she's also unconscious and lying at the feet of Caster.

"Caster!" Saber said, she doesn't dare to move, Caster has the upper hand, having 3 hostages, she could easily cast a spell and kill Fuji-Nee in an instant.

"I'm surprised you got here so fast, you were careless boy, you should have put up a better bounded field." He doesn't hear anything else, his focus is on the purple haired girl.

"So you're going to use them as a means to escape?" Rin said

"I could have easily left and taken them as hostages, but I guess I'm here for my own selfish means now..." She turns to Shirou

"Why not join me, boy?" She's smiling while she's talking.

"What...?"

"You are very interesting, boy. This is the fifth Holy Grail War, but I don't think a case like you has ever existed before. It would be easy to kill you. But you're such a valuable sample, so I would like to obtain you alive if possible. I even disobeyed my masters orders to come here, I want you that much. Do you understand? I am doing these things because I want you to be on my side alive."

"You'd think I'll just...!"

She laughs "You don't even need to think about it." Caster said "No one else is able to obtain the Holy Grail besides me, you've already lost, the entire town is already mine, even Saber cannot defeat me, for I have an infinite supply of magical energy, what is your answer Emiya Shirou, will you oppose me, or obey me?" She smiles, a smile showing she has all the cards.

"Let go of Fuji-nee..." He hears her gritting her teeth slightly, she sighs to calm herself down.

"You've already lost, and you still deny me...?"

"I don't care about that, just let her go."

"That's really disappointing, I really liked you, I could have shared the Grail with you if you had cooperated."

"That stupid Grail is worthless! Causing all these lives to be lost, causing my family to get involved..." His eyes linger to Sakura "I joined this damn war to stop people like you! That Grail has nothing to do with any of this, so let Fuji-nee go!"

Caster begins to laugh "You say the Grail has nothing to do with this? The Grail is the very reason to why you're here! The previous war was ten years ago, right? You lost everything from that fire. You were left alone and all you could do was wait for death waiting for the fires to eat you up, just as it did for the others, and Emiya Kiritsugu found you at that time. Take revenge on the Grail and rewrite the suffering you went through!" She smiles once again "Do you accept my offer, Emiya Shirou?"

"I refuse..." He said solemnly

"W-what? Do you not understand the position you're in boy?"

"I understand it completely, but I still have no interest in the Holy Grail! I only want it to end as fast as possible, I only continue to help Saber achieve her goal, so I refuse to accept this corrupted deal!"

"I guess I no longer have a use for her, I'll just dispose of this hostage..." Her finger begins to glow, she's ready to dispose of Fuji-nee, until a blue and silver blur speed toward her.

"Caster!" Her sword ready to cleave her in half. What she doesn't notice is Caster slowly bringing out a strange crooked dagger, **Rule Breaker**, she brings it down ready to obtain Saber, she notices too late and the dagger is about to pierce her armor but a sudden hard shove pushes her out of the way.

"Emiya-kun!" She looks at Rin's horrified face, she turns back to Shirou who has the dagger stabbed into his chest. Red light begins to pour from the tiny wound and Shirou begins to scream in pain, but the wound is not the only thing glowing. His left arm suddenly begins to horribly convulse and small cracks of light spread across it, he begins to bleed, his mouth, nose, ears and eyes begin to gush blood. He feels as if he's being ripped apart. The cracks become bigger until his entire arm seems to explode, consuming everything in a bright light. When the light clears Shirou is on the ground with a large pool of blood under him. They notice his arm and are surprised at what they see, it is no longer his usual normal arm, but a tan and muscular one, and slowly ever so slowly a red cloth materializes and wraps around his arm, fastening itself into a tight knot.

"This is not what I expected to happen, but it will work just as well..." She looks at the stunned Saber "I no longer have a use for her, you can have her back." She throws the limp Fuji-nee like a rag-doll to the ground, she picks up Sakura and her cloak starts to flutter "If you ever want to see your master again, come to my temple!" She begins to laugh.

"Shirou!" She runs toward the fallen boy, she desperately reaches out to grab him, but the black cloak consumes him and the echoing laughter of Caster is the last thing they hear.

* * *

Shirou is lying down in an open area, all around him are moving images, showing instances of his life, his memories. But most are shattered remains of memories, even the memory of Kiritsugu saving him from the fire is cracked. His mind is almost gone, he no longer has any strength, his body feels numb. He feels his eyes slowly shutting. Suddenly a lone figure slowly walks to Shirou "Hey, Dumbass." He kicks his leg "Wake up." Shirou opens his eyes to the imposing figure of Archer "Ar...cher?" He smirks "Good, you still remember me. Geez you sure are stupid, do you not remember what that specific Noble Phantasm does?"

"How...?" Shirou said, his numbness gone for now.

"Hmm...?" Archer looks at some of the shattered memories.

"How are you still here?" He smirks, looking back to Shirou.

"Isn't it obvious? I never left, when I transferred my arm to you I also transferred part of my mind along with it. You see I could never contact you before because I was "asleep" but every time you used my arm and called on a large amount of power, it would "jolt" me awake. It was not until you used Rho Aias on the building, I was able to make a connection between us, but not completely. It was not until you traced Caliburn and the power behind it finally "woke me up". But now since Caster used Rule Breaker on you it nearly severed our connection, making my knowledge enter your brain at an even faster rate. That's why a lot of these memories are destroyed now..." He notices that Archer is bleeding and some parts of his body are cut and his clothes are torn.

"Wait, if you said that Rule Breaker nearly severed the connection, then how am I talking to you now?" Shirou asked

"It's because I used a lot of power and concentration to prevent the connection from severing, remember we are connected in mind and body. if I was a second to late, my arm's power would have killed you and me." He notices everything is starting to fade "It's time to wake up, and you are lucky. I was able to salvage your mind and you should still be functional when you wake up, but your magical circuits are shot right now, so you might be a bit useless..." Archer begins to fade away.

"Hey, wait Archer! Archer!" Shirou reaches his arm forward but a great light blinds him, he slowly opens his eyes to a dark area, a dim green light illuminating it slightly, even if he cannot see very well, the atmosphere feels familiar. He notices he's tied together by magical energy, while he's struggling he notices his left arm and widens his eyes in surprise, he's having mixed feeling about seeing Archer's arm again. It reminds him, of the feeling of complete fear and dread, of disappearing if he took off the shroud for too long, but it also reminds him of why he abandoned his ideals for Sakura... he attempts to use reinforcement but a very painful shock stops him, he grunts in pain.

"Are you awake, boy?" He turns his head to the darkness, and Caster slowly walks out, Kuzuki right behind her. "I'm surprised you're even alive, when I tried to look through your mind, it was a complete mess and I could only see bits and pieces of your memories, everything else was blank, and not only that..." she gets closer and looks at his left arm "This strange arm, what are you hiding beneath this cloth? Every time I attempt to tamper with it..." She brings her hand forward but an electric shock makes her retract her arm "...It prevents me from getting any closer than that, even with my abilites, it won't budge. I knew I did the right choice to pick you, you are such an interesting one..."

"Where's Sakura and Illya?" He asks

"Oh, don't worry about them, they'll be gone soon enough, now tell me what have you got hidden under that cloth?"

"I said where are they!" He struggles in his bonds.

"My persistent are we? If you must know they are both up there." He looks around the underground cave and sees a large staircase leading to where they are.

"You know I was just planning to only use the Einzbern girl but to my surprise I find out the other girl is a magus as well! Her magical circuits are very good, she will sustain the Grail for quite some time..."

"Now all I need is for Saber to become my servant and I'll have everything I need, I even severed my contract with that Assassin to have Saber, but you had to interrupt..."

"So how about it? If you give me your command seals, then I might let one of them live, okay?"

"No! I won't decide who lives or dies, I will get out of here and I will stop you!" Shirou glares at her, and she's silent for a moment, until she starts to laugh.

"You still amuse me to no end... but if you won't willingly give them to me, I'll just have to force you..." She begins to shock and blast him with magical energy, he begins to scream out in pain "I wonder how long you'll last, boy..." A sadistic grin appears on her face.

Saber is standing alone outside silently watching the sky.

"It seems Fujimura-sensei wasn't hurt, she's under an enchanted sleep right now so she won't remember anything in the morning..." Rin said

"..." Saber doesn't talk

"Saber...?" Rin asks worryingly

"...It's all my fault..." She said quietly "If I was just a little faster, Shirou wouldn't have been...!" She grits her teeth.

"Don't worry we'll get him and everyone back..." Rin said, she's about to speak until she feels another presence behind her.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance..." They both spin around to the purple haired servant.

"Rider?!" Saber materializes her sword and charges, ready to strike her down. "You are alive?!"

"Stop, I did not come here to fight..." Rider said

"Then why are you here, Rider?!" Rin said

"I came here because my master is in danger, and I need your assistance if I want to save her..." She said

"Do you mean...?" Saber said

"If you're referring to Sakura then yes, she is the one I need to save..."

"Rin, what does she mean? How is Sakura a magus?"

"...She's been hiding it... I only know because our families are the original three, Tohsaka, Matou and Einzbern..." She seems like she doesn't want to talk anymore.

"If she's your master then why did you not save her before?" Saber asks, she glares at Rider.

"...I was unable to, my wounds did not fully recover from your Noble Phantasm, I would have only caused more trouble than help, and if I tried anything, she would have killed that woman, someone Sakura cares for..." Rin sighs

"Fine..." Rin said

"Rin...?" Saber lowers her sword

"She can join us, and besides we are going to need all the help we can get..."

"Then let us depart quickly!" Saber yells, they begins to make their way to the temple.

"GAHHHH!" Shirou screams from the pain, foreign magical energy painfully courses throughout his body, the magic stops abruptly and he slumps down, he hears Caster laughing.

"You lasted much longer than I though, boy... but, I grow tired of this, I think it's time to begin the ritual..." She turns to walk away "Souichirou-sama, if you would...?" He silently moves, walking slowly to Shirou.

"I think I'll start with that Matou girl..." Shirou's eyes open, he forces his body to move "IF YOU HURT HER I SWEAR-" He cannot finish as he's punched across the face, he feels his cheek bone crack. Caster begins to laugh "Foolish boy..." She continues walking up the steps.

"Guh!" His chest is slammed with a lethal 'bite' he feels his ribs shatter "It's foolish to resist, Emiya... just give up now, and I'll grant you a painless death..." He strikes at Shirou's knee, it is instantly destroyed. He strikes Shirou's arm, it snaps at an awkward angle. Shirou hear's a scream in the distance.

"SAKURA!" He uses reinforcement, forcing his prana through his overworked system, he flexes his arms, bending and warping the bonds until they snap, he sends a straight punch and Kuzuki jumps back, he attempts to trace his twin swords, but he's painfully shocked_ "Projection is useless for now..." _He looks at Kuzuki and mimics the same style.

"Let me pass, Kuzuki!" He swings his arms, sending them at Kuzuki, he deflects and 'bites' back, inflicting more damage to Shirou.

"I cannot, she must complete her goal and summon the Holy Grail." He easily side-steps Shirou's strikes and hits his vital spots, then he used his elbow for an additional hit. Shirou brings his fists forward and uses a short explosive burst to strike Kuzuki, he dodges the strike and charges forward and using full strength he strikes at Shirou's temple, causing a large amount of blood to splatter to the ground, Shirou's body starts to slack, Kuzuki attempts to move but he sees the boys leg is hooking his from the inside **"Eight Grand Openings..." **He brings his fist upward** "...Standing Upward Cannon!" **Kuzuki barely dodges the uppercut, the fist grazes his chin and his neck violently jerks back, he quicky strikes at Shirou's unprotected stomach and moves back _"If I hadn't dodged that..." _His mouth begins to bleed, and the two warriors silently watch, waiting for the next move, they both rush at each other and their fists clash once again.

* * *

"Quickly we're almost there!" Saber, Rin and Rider are speeding their way to the main entrance of the temple, they are about to reach the top, until a lone figure stand in their way.

"Assassin!" Saber readies her sword "I'm glad you could make it Saber, I've been waiting for you..." He draws his sword

"Why are you down here, I thought you had to guard the entrance to the temple...?" Saber asks

"That's what I would have been doing, if Caster didn't sever our connection, I've only got enough Mana to maybe last until morning..." He looks at the others "You better hurry, she's about to start... and by the way, they entered through an underground passage-way, not through the temple, you should be able to find it if you look through the woods." He points his thumb to an area of dense forest.

"Why are you telling us this...?" Rin said

"I have no reason to lie to you, I live on borrowed time, I have no desires, no pride as a Heroic Spirit nor do I have a wish for the Holy Grail, all I want to do now is fight, Saber." He said calmly.

"...Rin, Rider go." Saber said

"But, Saber!" Rin yells

"Just go! It's better for some of us to go rather than none! I'll deal with Assassin and catch up to you!" Rin hesitates but nods and they pass Assassin and enter the deep woods.

"You know I shouldn't have even been summoned, because I am not truly Sasaki Kojirou..."

"...?!" Saber is confused

"You shouldn't be surprised, Sasaki Kojirou is a fictional swordsman, who has never existed, they say he existed, but the records on him are too vague. The 'past' of this man was falsely forged to become a famed swordsman." He looks at his sword "There probably existed a man named Sasaki Kojirou, he probably even used the same sword, but..."

"...They are not the same person, so Assassin, you are a fictional heroic spirit...?"

"Yes, I am Sasaki Kojirou. It just means I'm the best suited for this role, I have no name, I was not fortunate enough to get one, I was only summoned because I am able to use Sasaki Kojirou's secret technique, I am a false servant, that is why Caster treated me as disposable servant for that reason. There is no meaning, even if I would achieve something great, it would only add to 'Sasaki Kojirou' and I will have nothing, for I am nothing. I am only a expendable servant who acts out the role of Sasaki Kojirou..."

"Assassin..."

"...But that does not mean I cannot enjoy a battle with a superior swordsman." He knows he will die soon, yet he continues to smile on.

Saber raises her sword and the legendary swordsman clashes with the nameless swordsman.

"...Rider are you alright? There should be a bounded field around the temple that only allows servants to enter through the front, right?"

"You don't need to worry, I only feel a small hindrance, but it is tolerable, it will be fine, all I need to do is collect mana from the air to recover." Rin nods and starts to focus on the surrounding area to find the entrance, she notices a small stream in between the dead trees, she also notices it's moving, meaning the water's coming from somewhere "Could it be...?" She gets closer and lights up the area, illuminating a small entrance "This must be it, let's go Rider!." Before she enters she makes sure to leave enough magical energy for Saber to follow.

"Understood..." They slowly make their way into the cave, they soon enter an open area, dimly lit from a green glow, Rin can feel the amount of magical energy in the air, mana so strong it's nearly visible.

"We must hurry, the ritual is probably starting..." Rin and Rider run across the large cave, getting closer and closer to their destination.

Caster immediately looks up "So they finally made it..." She looks down at Kuzuki "Master, it's time to end this..." She sends a beam of magical energy to Shirou, it's too late for him to dodge and it slams into his unprotected back, he coughs blood. Shirou can't even grunt in pain as he's repeatedly punched and shot at, he's beginning to lose conscious, until an energy shot is sent toward Caster, and multiple chains are sent to Kuzuki. Caster deflects the energy shots with ease, and Kuzuki easily strikes and blocks each chain.

"Emiya-kun!" She runs up to his bloody form and notices his left arm, she can feel a familar energy coming from it.

"...Rin?" He looks to his left "Rider?!"

"Hello again, Shirou."

"...Tohsaka my magic is shot right now, I need you to deal with Caster." He looks to Rider "Please, go and save them! I'll deal with Kuzuki..." Rider hesitates but speeds toward, the stairs, Rin turns to face the strongest magus.

"Oh? Lets see how you do, girl..." Caster lifts her hand and multiple magic circles appears and blasts of energy shoot out, they get closer and closer to Rin until she raises her hand as well, sending the same magic making them cancel each other out. Casters surprised for a second until her confidant smile returns.

"I see... you came here quite prepared didn't you? You knew you couldn't have hoped to match my power so you use those gems as a boost, right?" The gem in Rin's hand breaks, Caster lifts her hand once again "...But, just because you managed to block one of my spells, doesn't mean you can ever hope to win!" She materializes a staff and her robes open into a type of 'wings' , she flys into the air and magical circles appear all around her **"Rain of Light!" **Beams of A-Rank power are sent at Rin.**  
**

"Heh, don't you underestimate me!" She lifts her arm and three more gems are in her hand, she whips her hand forward and creates a magical shield to block the attack, two powerful magus's begin their battle.

* * *

Saber blocks another strike from Assassin, forcing her to move back. Even with him being weaker than before, he is still as skilled as before. She can't do much, every attempt to pass his defenses is meet with a clash of steel. Her mind flashes to Shirou _"I have to hurry or he might...!" _She runs forward, swinging her sword with all her strength, Assassin also swings his sword not at the running Saber but at the swinging sword. "Hmm, so it finally happened...? Impressive, Saber. I thought it would be able to last a few more attacks, but it bent after one serious hit!" Their swords create sparks, both attempting to overpower the other. Assassin knows his sword won't last much longer, his sword is bent and parts are chipped so he attacks at her body instead._  
_

She jumps back and Assassin smirks, waiting for this moment. He brings his hands into the familiar stance, he turns his back to Saber and holds his sword with both hands.

"Assassin, you...!" She can't dodge, but she still tries to move.

**"Tsubame Gaeshi!"** The ultimate technique of Sasaki Kojirou is sent toward Saber, the arching blades coming from all sides. But, Saber notices something is off with the attack and she is able to move out of the way, using her superior speed.

"You're still able to dodge...? As expected from Saber..." He raises his damaged sword "There is only one thing for us to do, Saber." He said calmly

"Assassin...?"

"From the beginning, we are only summoned to complete our roles, to achieve the selfish goals of our master, as I was used to protect that gate, you have something you must protect as well, and remember Saber, you're not the only one who's pressed for time..."

"...I apologize, yes we do not have time." She raises her sword and the force of the wind pushed Assassin back, her holy sword is revealed. "This time it will be the end, and you will be defeated Assassin!" She readies herself to charge.

"Yes, let us..." He put himself into his stance. She rushes forward and he brings his sword down, achieving the ultimate technique, the attack comes from every side, she will die if she hesitates even for a single moment, her eyes catches the slightest difference, as small as a grain of sand, she does not care if it was real or not. She boosts forward and risks everything on her "instinct" and charges with all her might.

"...Kuh." His smile disappears, she narrowly passes through the gap under his arm, a single blind spot between his left arm and waist, once again her armor chips even as she dodged the attack, only someone with her superior skills could achieve something like this, having already experienced the demonic technique once has saved her life. But that does not mean it is over, even if she avoided the Tsubame Gaeshi the swordsman is still beside her, she charges in speeding faster than the attack. He swings his sword at lightning speed, even if it's not as fast as the technique, she could still die, but...

"Hah!" Her swing is a bit faster than his, her sword slices through his body and everything becomes quiet.

"Gu—nu." Blood erupts from his chest, and he struggles to stay up, he feels his lungs fill with blood and he closes his mouth. The knight is under him, in amazement she survived that attack. The only difference between life and death was that longsword...

The technique would have stayed invincible if his sword was not bent. His arm drops to his side.

"...Go..." Saber runs to the forest without saying another word. He looks to the sky "I thought she was a beautiful bird, but turned out to be a proud lion. I thought I analyzed her enough... Hm, I guess I need more training in both fields.." He sits down, his elegant clothes already lost it's color, a large pool of blood growing under him. He smiles a satisfied smile, his existence disappears with the wind.

Saber speeds through the woods, following the traces of magic left by Rin. She soon reaches a small stream and finds an opening, she finds her self in a dimly lit area, with an dull green glow. _"This place seems familiar..." _She begins to run across through the open cave. "Please wait a little longer, Shirou!"

Shirou is fighting Kuzuki, his movements are becoming smoother and faster. Soon enough he's able to match some of Kuzuki's strikes and land some as well. But it's not enough, Shirou blocks a strike but Kuzuki redirects his hand at Shirou's neck and strikes, he feels his clavicle break, but as soon as it broke it was popped back into place with a sickening crack. How? How is he healing so fast? Just as they were about to move, they both hear a half-strangled cry of pain, Rin's elbow is buried in the middle of Caster's robes.

"You're a magus!" Caster said, her breathing coming out in pained huffs "And you use your bare hands?!"

"Didn't you know? Even a magus needs to know self-defense!" She brings her hand back and punches forward with strength Shirou didn't know she possessed another crack is heard, and Caster can't breath, she let's out another agonizing groan, but Rin mercilessly attacks she kicks her to the air and opens her palm, magical energy manifesting on it. She's about to bring it forward but a steel-like hand grabs her arm. "That's enough, Tohsaka." He said calmly, Shirou didn't even see him move, his focus was on Rin for too long. He easily flips her to the air and punches forward, Rin is able to put an arm to block the hit, but a loud crack is heard and she's sent flying straight to Shirou.

"Tohsaka!" He manages to run up and catch her, she seems to be out cold for the moment.

He helps Caster to her feet "T-thank you, Souichirou-sama." She stumbles but stands straight "I apologize, master, but it se-" She stops suddenly, and she snarled "Please deal with them, master! For I have another nuisance to deal with!" She grabs her robe **"****Tροψα!" **She teleports to another area. Kuzuki looks at the empty space, then he slowly looks at the two magus's and begins his attack.

"Shirou!" A sudden and relieving voice is heard and the knight appears to protect her master. She looks at Shirou and notices his left arm _"Its just like before..."_ She looks at the master assassin "Please rest for now, Shirou! I will deal with him!" He doesn't have time to reply because she shoots off to face Kuzuki.

Rider finally manages to release Illya from her magical bonds, she sighs in relief and looks to her true master, she's about to begin until Caster appears and shoots of a magical beam of energy "Tch!" Rider growled, only due to her extreme flexibility, she's able to flip through the air and dodge the magic, Rider knows she can't fight with Illya slowing her down so she retreats for now, going back to everyone else. Caster grits her teeth in anger and teleports back down.

"Shirou!" He looks up to the descending figure of Rider and much to his relief an unconscious Illya, but no Sakura.

"Rider! You're okay! But where's Sakura...?" A frown appears on her face "I'm sorry. I had no time, Caster put up a magical barrier around both of them, I only had enough to get Illyasviel out..." Rider said

Just as he was about to speak, Caster teleports herself back to Kuzuki. The two groups begin to stare each other down.

Sakura is alone, she's in a dark area where no light can enter._ "Where am I...?"_ She looks around in panic and begins an endless run, until she trips and falls "Senpai, where are you...?" She's about to move again until a voice is heard, the one voice she wished to never hear again.** "You're alone, child." **She turns to the ancient and decaying figure, a man, no _thing_ that shouldn't be alive, **Matou Zouken**, he begins to slowly walk toward her **"You think he'll ever love a used thing like you? Not even your sister cared enough for you, she abandoned you!" **She falls to the ground her hands covering her head, tears falling from her face. "Stop! It's not true..." She said weakly** "Yes it is! Not even you can deny it! He'll spend more and more time with your sister and soon enough he'll forget all about you..." **He brings his hand forward, ready to take her over **"You belong to me and me alone!"**

"No, No, No, NO, NO, **NOOOO!**" Her screams shake the area, black tentacles ooze out of the floor, slamming against the entire area causing the blackened darkness to crack and fall apart. **"What are you doing?!" **His voice is filled with rage but underneath that emotion is fear. The shadow tentacles continue to break the area.

Sakura slowly gets up, she easily destroys the magical barrier with a flick of her wrist. Her appearance begins to change, a black dress begins to form around her body, strips of black cloth danced around her, her natural purple hair began to fade into a purplish, pale color, her eyes became a pale bloody red, no longer caring and cheerful but psychotic and inhumane. She starts to hug herself, her body shakes uncontrollably and she lets out an ear-piercing scream. She feels the shadow ripping through her body, destroying every worm it can find. "_S-stop, Sakura!" _She ignores the annoying voice _"I order you to stop!" _The shadow finally stopped after destroying every worm, the annoying pests are gone from her body. As a final insane thing to do, she digs her hand into her chest and a loud squelching sound is heard, followed by the crack of bones as she snapped her rib cage in two. She pulled out her still beating heart and crushed it, sending blood to spatter everywhere, and in her hand is the wriggling form of Zouken's true form. "Hmm... I thought you'd be bigger..." She lifts her hand_ "Wait! Wait! Please, Sakura!" _His pleas are unheard, she begins to squeeze her fingers "Goodbye, Grandfather. You must be tired from crawling around like the worm you are for 200 years, right? I'll put you to rest, so you can disappear now." Her fingers begin to squeeze, she hears him scream in pain _"NO, SAKURA! N-"_ His voice is instantly shut off. She looks at the bloody mess in her palm. She soon begins to laugh uncontrollably, the shadow begins to bleed of her body, soon forming into dark masses, she begins to draw from the massive amount of mana that's pooled here, an amount she can never hope to use in a life time. The dark figures begin to grow, growing to unimaginable heights and power. She turns around "I hope you're ready, Nee-san..."

* * *

The scream echo's across the cave, everything seems to stop for Shirou he feels his heart sink, his blood run cold. _"No... please, no..." _All the servants tense look to the top of the stairs, their battle forgotten for the moment. He even sees Saber look uneasy from the oppressive force. This can't happen again, he can't let that **thing **be born.

"Something's coming..." Rin said, they look to the top and notice large figures, 7 in total approaching. Their heights reaching to the top of the cave, their glowing 'eyes' creating an eerie light. He sees Rin falter "We can't win against that... The power those things are creating is enormous..." She suddenly feels a strong hand grip her shoulder, she turns to Shirou "Don't worry, I'll handle it..." He looks to Saber and Rider "Stall those two for me!" Saber immediately attempts to protest "Please. I need every ounce of concentration I can get!" Saber reluctantly nods her head and Rider trusts him enough to listen.

"Emiya-kun, what are you...?" He grabs the red cloth and unties the knot. "Guh!" The pain is enormous, whatever slight resistance he built up to the foreign power is gone, as if it reset. He falls to one knee from surprise, the circuits in left arm begins to glow with power.

"Trace On..." He feels the sword stabbing through his body at an alarming rate.

**Durandal.**

**Harpe.**

**Gram.**

**Gungnir.**

**Caladbolg.**

**Gáe Bolg.**

**Merodach.**

He traces 7 Noble Phantasm's to meet the 7 **Shadow Giants**, he knows that by themselves they will not even put a dent to these beasts, he knows he might die but for everyone to live he must risk everything. He begins to fill the legendary weapons with every last of his Od, causing them to become even stronger but fragile and unstable. They are **Broken Phantasm's.**

***SHATTER* **"..." He can't remember even the simplest things now, he can't even remember the name of the girl next to him, what was it? R...R...Ri... strange, all these people are familiar but he can't remember their faces, but that doesn't matter now! He needs to save the girl he loves once more! "Freeze out! Sword bullet full open!" The 7 swords are sent flying, the dark giant's notice too late and they are consumed in a great explosion of light. The cave shakes from the power, massive cracks appear all around the cave. He falls to the ground, his body already shutting down, one of his eyes are blank, his mind is melted from the strain.

"E-Emiya-kun... W-what was that...?" The black haired girl said. But even then that is not enough. Many, many more Shadow Giants appear, slowly making their way to everyone.

"Fascinating! That boy was able to create Noble Phantasms to such a high degree! He becomes more and more interesting every time I see him!" Caster said "Don't forget about me, Caster!" Saber yells, she swings her sword but it glides through Caster, she begins to laugh and teleports away, she appears beside Kuzuki and shoots magic blasts to push Rider back. "I'll let you deal with that thing..." She grits her teeth "All that hard work destroyed by that monstrosity... it won't matter if you win or lose, let us depart Souichirou-sama..." She grabs his hand and teleports away. Saber grits her teeth, but she notices more of those beasts are approaching. She looks to Rider and they nod to each other, they run back to Shirou and Rin.

Rin helps Shirou up, the blades cut against her skin. "Get up, Emiya-kun!" He hears a muffled voice speaking "G—t up, E—ya-ku-!" He can't hear right, the voice is familiar, yet he can't remember. He looks up and notices their are too many to fight, even if his mind wasn't dead he wouldn't stand a chance against the infinite army. He feels another set of hand's grab his body. "S—rou!" Her voice is also familiar...

"Move back, Rin!" Saber lifts her sword and the holy sword is revealed, she begins to fill the weapon with mana.

**"EX..." **She brings the sword down.

**"...CALIBUR!" **The Noble Phantasm is sent at the giants, and they are consumed by the holy light, but she only destroyed a small amount compared to the entire army before them.

"They are able to withstand an attack from my Excalibur?!" Saber yells, she's already out of energy. If she were to try that again she would surely dissapear. "Just what is that thing...?!"

"It's... It's Sakura..." They turn to look at Rider in shock.

"What?!" Rin yells, she closes her eyes and feels the magical energy. It's tainted and corrupted but under all that is the familiar magic of her sister, her eyes shoot open in shock "She's right..."

"What do we do now...?" Rider asked "If that really is Sakura, then she's doing this willingly." She looks troubled "We must hurry, I can feel my connection with her becoming weaker and weaker..." One of the Shadow Giants roar, causing everyone to tense and ready themselves. Shirou struggles to get up, his legs buckle under him, every step he takes causes a loud grating noise to resonate, making everyone look to Shirou. "R-R-R...in..." He remembered, he looks at her "Rin, I know a way we can defeat those things but you have to trust me, okay?" She slowly nods.

How long has the shroud been off? If he attempts to trace _that _now, he will surely die, his body is already breaking down, most of his circuits are blown, having too much prana sent through them. He's beginning to feel doubt once again, he will disappear, but... It has to be done.

"Trace...On." He begins the projection, and immediate pain hits him in waves. He falls to one knee. His hand immediately goes to his head, digging into his scalp, trying desperately to make the pain go away. His left hand glows and flickers, every second it traces then breaks, each attempt staying longer and longer. He feels a terrible strain on his mind and body, but he ignores everything to achieve this one thing. He tries to trace the shape of the blade, yet his damaged mind still attempts to tell him it's not possible, how it's alien technology to him. He hears a cry of protest behind him "Emiya-kun, stop! You'll die if you do that!" He ignores her and continues pushing forward. He's finally able to see the 'sword' and grasp the handle, he rips his hand back and collapses to the floor.

"Shirou!" Saber runs up to his fallen body, she notices that Rin is only standing there in shock, her eyes set on the weapon that Shirou traced. She slowly walks up to him and gently takes the blade out of his hand. Her eyes no longer show shock but rather a deep confusion. "This can't be..." She can feel the infinite amount of mana coursing thought the blade.

"Rin." Saber said, she looks up slowly "What is that weapon?"

"This is... this is the **Jeweled Sword of Zelretch**, something Shirou shouldn't even be able to possess...!" She's about to begin an explanation until another giant is upon them. "Rider! I'm counting on you!" She slowly nods. She looks up, ready to match the monster. A large and powerful magic circle appears in front of her.

**"Bellerophon!" **She shoots off, a burning comet bursts through the sky, speeding toward the giant.

Rin looks to Shirou then to the blade "Saber, I'm going to confront Sakura. Protect Shirou for now." She runs up the stairs, feeling the overwhelming pressure, each step becoming more and more hesitant.

"Hello, Nee-San. I'm glad you didn't run away." At the top is no longer her sister, it is a demonic and twisted being.

"Sakura..."

"What's wrong, Nee-san? Are you scared...?" She smiles, blood still leaks off her fingers.

"Grandfather's dead, he was a nusiance so I crushed him like the worm he was." She begins to laugh "I'm strong, stonger than anything but I'm still bound..." The air freezes "You always find a way to be a nuisance, you won't go away, you still torment me in my mind, so as long as you're alive I can't be free." The shadow begins to rise behind her "I'll show you the power I have, no one will save you now, you will be abandoned just as you abandoned me!" The Shadow Giants rise from the ground "Goodbye, Nee-san."

Rin readies her sword, it begins to glow with unimaginable power "Es läßt frei. Werkzeug—!" A single swing destroys all the shadows in front of her.

"It's not possible..." Sakura said, her voice causes even more to rise, but as soon as they rise they fall from a single swing of her sword.

"How? How are you cutting them down?! I'm putting out a thousand times your magical power, not even you have enough power to kill a single one, so why...?"

"Can't you tell? We're in a contest of pure power, I'm just using enough magical energy to stop your magical energy, causing those things to dispell."

"It's not possible! You can't have that much magical energy, the only way is-" She looks to the sword. "I see, it's that blade, right...?" She glare at Rin.

"So you figured it out, yes it's this sword, I don't feel like explaining but it's your natural enemy. While you use those souls as your magic source, I'm using an imitation of the second magic, of my great master!" She swings the blade again, destroying the final shadow giant.

"It can never be possible! I am stronger than anyone!" She summons more giants and the battle between two sisters begin.

Shirou can't move. He just can't. Even breathing is to painful to do. His eyes want to close... _"Get up, boy." _A voice is heard _"I said get up. Do I have to do this every time you fall down?" _His voice is... familiar. He feels the pain go away a bit, not much, but he can finally move again_ "There I took away some of the pain, but it won't last much longer so hurry up!" _Shirou struggles to get up, his movements are jerky and forced. He slowly begins his walk up the stairs.

Saber is forced to fight another army of those giant, she releases her noble phantasm once again destroying them and buying her precious time. She looks at Shirou struggle to move, his body mechanically moving, slowly getting up. "Stop Shirou! You can't move in your condition!" He seems to ignore her, she can't move. She used too much mana. Something falls to the ground. Saber looks and sees Rider, she's in terrible condition, she seems to be passed out. Who knows how many of those things she destroyed.

"Shirou!" She moves but falls to one knee, her breathing becomes heavy. He continues walking.

The pain is coming back, he feels a large sword stab through his side, he stumbles, nearly falling of the stairs. A great light fills the entire cavern, his eyes are blinded but he continues to walk, his walk becomes a crawl the pain to intense for him to move. But finally he makes it up the stairs and he catches the last of a heartwarming scene. "Sorry for being such a selfish sister... And I'm glad that you wore that ribbon..." She crumples to the ground. Sakura begins to scream, it's filled with heart wrenching pain. She hugs her body as if she's trying to hug what's not there.

" S-S-Sak...ura..." She turns in shock, her body shaking, the shadow dancing around her.

"Senpai..." Her mind seems to have returned. "I killed Nee-san! She cared about me and I killed her!" Shirou looks to Rin and sees she's still breathing, good its still the same. "Sakura, Rin's alive." Her eyes seem to light up "She can be saved, she's not dead so we can save her, right Sakura?" She sighs in relief, but with her concentration broken the shadow charges at Shirou "No! Dodge it, Senpai!" He stumbles fast enough to block Rin from the attack, it wasn't the same, it was... fiercer, more powerful than before. That's why it sliced his right arm clean off, the shadow consumes his falling arm.

"No! Senpai!" Her horrified expression enough to make Shirou move, his legs feel like they are about to break any second. The shadow continues to attack, it would usually be able to rip him apart, but her screams cause them to weaken.

"Please stop Senpai! I can't suppress it anymore!" He takes another step, his mind is cracking apart "Why do you still come, Senpai?! Take Nee-san and run away!" He takes another step "Please forget about me, I'll die here! I don't want you to see me like this!" He keeps taking painful step after painful step.

"Why don't you listen to me...?!" Tears fall down her face, the shadow becomes harder and harder for her to control, each strike becoming more deadly. He finally reaches her and stumbles to her shaking body, he wraps his arm around her.

"It's because **I love you**, Sakura." Her trembling immediately stops, her eyes open in complete shock "E-eh...?" His eyes set on hers. "You've suffered too much, too much for me to stay silent, that's why I'll protect you, I'll protect you from everything, I won't let you feel pain ever again..."

"Sen...pai..." The shadow weakens, slowing down enough for him to trace a certain item. "Trace On." In his hand is the cursed dagger, Rule Breaker. He stabs her back, breaking her connection to the other side. She falls to the ground her appearance changes back, it was over, he saved her once again.

Saber recovered enough to move, she sees Rider is stirring, she slowly gets up. Saber grits her teeth "Shirou how can you be so reckless?!" She begins to run up the stairs, she hears Rider right behind her. They reach the top in a few moments.

"Shirou!" She grabs his falling form, "You idiot! Why must you do this?!" He slowly turns to her, his face showing slight surprise "What I had to... S-S-S...aber." He moves his stump of an arm, trying to reach for his left arm. She knows what to do, she grabs the cloth and slowly wraps his arm up, his face shows great relief. Rin begins to wake up, her hand going to her stomach wound. She notices everyone else is here.

"Emiya-kun, your arm!" He looks at the stump and shrugs "It's just an arm, no one died so it's a small sacrifice." She recoils from his calm answer "What are you saying?! You'll just shrug that off just like that?!" Illya begins to stir, from her sleep, she stretches her arms and rubs her eyes "What I miss...?" She looks around at everyone's condition "Oh..."

Everyone slowly begins their walk down the stairs, they walk with a comfortable silence until a sudden laughter is heard "So you managed to survive...?" They whips around to the forms of Caster and Kuzuki "What will you do now, Saber? You have no prana left, your master is half-dead and no one is in fighting condition. I'll let everyone else live, if you become mine, Saber..." Suddenly a powerful voice is heard.

"You are a fool half-breed, learn your place." Everyone turns around to a wall of Noble Phantasms, Shirou's eyes begin to analyze every weapon that he can see. "It would have been fun to watch this till the end, but..." The figure reveals himself "You said something you should have not, Caster." He's a handsome man, who's fully covered in golden armor, his wine red eyes showing great arrogance, for some reason this guy pisses Shirou off. "Archer!" Saber growles, he continues speaking "It is a large crime to say the King of Knights is yours..." He points his finger at Saber "For that belongs to me! The King!" He recrosses his arms "For laying your hands on the King's treasure..." The Noble Phantasms begin to tremble, ready to be sent off "Begone, half-breed." The rain of Noble Phantasms begin.

"Master!" Caster appears in front of Kuzuki and creates a magical shield, managing to block the wave of swords. He raises his hand and three swords appear "Dissapear!" He throws the swords, they outmaneuver her shield and speed toward Kuzuki "Master!" She disables her shield and uses her body to shield him. Countless swords begin to stab into her body, she screams in pain, until as fast as the pain came, it went. Her eyes slowly flutter open and sees Kuzuki is defending her, using his body as a shield and deflecting any that pass him. "Master! Stop!" She attempts to move but she's in too much pain. The golden servant looks at Sakura "I should deal with that nuisance as well..." Half of his noble phantasms turn to them. "Disappear you tainted thing..." The swords slowly begin to rain down, everything begins to slow down_ "What can I do? There are too many to block and I don't think they'll survive..."_ His hand begins to tremble with rage_ "I guess it's time..." _He hears the familiar voice_ "A-Archer?!" _He feels his limbs begin to lose feeling _"What the hell?!"_ His vision starts to blur _"Relax. I didn't want to do this just yet with your body in that condition but it must be done..." _He falls into darkness.

"Shirou, move!" Saber yells, she runs up to his unmoving body and puts herself in front of him. The swords are getting closer and closer until she sees him raise his arm. The 7 layered shield materializes and blocks the Multiple Noble phantasms, his shield inadvertently defending Caster and Kuzuki.

"What?!" The voice is not from them but from the golden servant above. Not only that, multiple Noble Phantasms appear behind "Shirou" that match the number that the golden servant has. The King notices this and begins to shake in anger "You..." even more Noble Phantasms appear behind him "You damn PEASANT! How dare you copy my treasures!" His anger is about to reach it's peak until he suddenly stops and he looks to the sky "No, if I were to do _that_ now it would ruin that man's plan..." His noble phantasms disappear "Remember Saber, I'm still waiting for your answer..." He turns away and disappears with a golden light.

Kuzuki turns to Caster his body slowly bleeding out, a normal man would have fallen already but he wanted to see Caster one more time "Are you alright, Master...?" Her answer is in a daze "Yes I am fine." His mouth begins to bleed "Thank goodness, I don't want you to die, it's such a shame I finally found my wish..." His vision begins to blur "There is no need to grieve; for I shall grant your wish..." She smiles her body already giving out "I think that's not possible, because my wish has already been granted..." She falls to the ground, unconscious. His wounds finally catch up to him and he falls to the ground as well.

"Shirou" is standing there he puts down his arm and sighs in relief "Phew, just in time..."

"Emiya-kun...?" He turns around to face them, her eyes widen in shock, Shirou's eyes are no longer large and brown but focused and grey, he blinks in surprise "Was I really this short...?" His wounds bleed yet he doesn't seem to care "Yo, Rin what's with that face?" He even has the same smirk. But it can't be, he can't be here. "Ar-Archer...?" Her voice is a whisper. Illya's also in shock,noticing how his appearance is too similar. He stumbles, and coughs blood "So this body is already at the limit, huh...?" He's about to leave until he hears a struggling voice behind him. "Emiya..."

"Shirou" turns around "No... whoever you are, I know I shouldn't even ask this considering what we have done but please, grant my dying wish, please take care of Caster..." He sees the absolute desperate and pleading look in his eyes, he silently nods. The last of Kuzuki's strength goes away and he falls, a heavy burden gone as he dies.

"I guess I have no choice..." He looks to the rest of them "I guess Caster is in the boy's care now..." His control starts to slip, he leaves the body and Shirou falls to the ground with a heavy thud. "Shirou!" Saber runs up to the fallen boy "He's only unconscious..." She looks to Caster and brings out her sword "Wait." The voice is from Rin "She'll be closely watched, and Shirou promised to take care of her, besides I don't think she'll want to do anything since Kuzuki died... We'll let Shirou decide later, he has a lot of explaining to do..." They pick up the unconscious Shirou and Caster and slowly leave the cave.

**Authors Notes:**

**Sorry for the very long wait, how long has it been, almost 2 weeks since I last updated? Anyway, here you go! I hope you enjoy this chapter and it doesn't sound to confusing in some parts. The next chapter will be a filler arc. Please tell me if I made things sound strange as well. Well I'll see you in the next chapter. Bye!**


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